Jade Winters
by BuzzCat
Summary: Jade Winters lives with her foster mother. House shows up, and suddenly the world is ever so slightly different. Rated for safety. NOW FINISHED! Sorry for the wait. BUT IT'S FINALLY DONE! :DDD
1. Jade Winters

House pulled up to designated home on his motorcycle. It didn't look much different than the others around it. Same typical white paint; same typical brown roof. Not knowing what else to do, he went up the brown steps and rang the doorbell. A girl came to the door. She looked very good for a 16-year-old, considering it was 8:00 on a Saturday morning in the middle of June. She wore a t-shirt reaching down to her waist that read 'Normal is Overrated' with a picture of a jackelope. She also wore hip-hugging jeans that perfectly complimented her icy blue eyes and the brown glasses framing them. The girl's rich brown hair cascaded exquisitely down her back to her skinny waist. On the whole, she looked very sexy. The girl looked at him confusedly. House hissed at her,

"Hello there babe. Want to come out and talk? We really need to talk about getting together. I don't care if you want to or not, but you **will **come out and talk." The girl raised her eyebrows. She shrugged, and almost stepped out. She knew how to defend her self, and how to gravely injure a man 11 different ways with her bare hands. Just then, someone from inside the house called,

"Jade, who the hell is it?" Jade called back,

"Just some damn ding-dong-door-ditchers Mom, that's it. I'm going to go out and hunt down their dead asses." Jade's mother called back,

"Just shut the damn door!" Jade went out, and met House in the driveway. She put her hands on her hips, emphasizing their slim looks. She said,

"Alright, we can talk. What's this about? Who the hell are you?" House ignored her, and pulled his cellphone out of his pocket. He dialed a number and held the phone out to Jade and said,

"Mommy will explain." Jade shot a puzzled look at him, but warily took the phone. It rang once, and it was immediately picked up by a woman, saying,

"Dr Cuddy, Dean of Medicine." Jade looked quizzically at House, and ignoring the woman's kind greeting said angrily,

"Who the hell are you? What do you want?" Dr. Cuddy was silent for a while, and when she spoke again, it was barely above a whisper,

"Is this Jade Winters?" Jade was even more confused now. How did this woman know her? She answered,

"Yeah, this is Jade Winters. What do you want with me?" All the anger had disappeared from her voice. All that remained was pure, unadulterated curiosity. She heard Cuddy sigh and say,

"This is going to sound insane and unbelievable, but I am your mother." Now it was Jade's turn to be speechless. She had known that she was adopted, but she hadn't thought of her real mother for quite a few years now. She had just assumed the bitch had had sex as a teen, and didn't want her. Jade said,

"That's not possible." She knew it was, but was too busy stalling for time to care about her knowledge. Cuddy said quickly,

"It is true, I swear. You were born June 17, 1993. You have a beauty mark on your left wrist." Jade couldn't help but glance at it, and took this in with surprising speed. She said,

"Give me something that only you and I would know." Cuddy said with finality,

"You have a mole on your right upper leg on the left side." Jade now accepted this. She said coolly,

"Fine, you're right. Why did you send Limpy here to give me a phone call?" Cuddy laughed and said,

"His name is Dr. Gregory House, but is referred to as House. He is an employee at the hospital. He **cannot **know what we have discussed. I was wondering if—well…oh hell, I want you to come live with me. I sent him in case you said yes." Jade mentally weighed her options. Stay in the care of her semi-cruel and nasty foster mother, or be welcomed into this unknown woman's arms who Jade knew wanted her. There really wasn't much competition. She said warily,

"Ok, but can we try it for a week first?" She heard Cuddy smile as she said,

"That would be wonderful. So, I'll see you late tonight?"

"Yes."

"Great. I love you, sweetie. Can you put House on the phone?" Jade handed House the phone and said,

"Mommy wants to talk to you." He took the phone and Jade ran into the house. House said,

"Yes, controlling woman? Can I have my balls back?" Cuddy ignored him and said,

"You are to bring Jade to me, and I will relieve you from all clinic hours you have still to do, and all you will ever have to do at my hospital. Also, you will refrain from any sexual comments. You will not appraise her body like a horse for breeding. If you do any of the above, I will stop the Vicodin. You know very well that I can." With that, she hung up. House was surprised how protective she was of Jade. Her protectiveness sent his mind reeling. Was this her daughter? He immediately dismissed the idea. She would never surrender the child she had wanted for so long. Perhaps she is a niece? It was possible. She did look so like Cuddy. Except, those eyes were so very unlike Cuddy's soft chocolate brown ones. He knew Jade's eyes looked familiar, and he had a pretty good idea where they were from. But that was impossible. Even if it was true, there would be hell to pay. He shoved the thought out of his mind.

While House thought to himself, Jade ran up the stairs to her room. She dragged her duffle bag out of the back of her closet, and started stuffing it with any clothes she thought she might need. Some t-shirts, some shorts, a pair of jeans, lots of underwear, some books and notebooks all fell in a haphazard manner. Jade grabbed her cellphone and wallet, stuffing them in her pockets. She also threw in her laptop and charger. Jade viciously slammed the zipper shut. She picked it up, and went tearing down the stairs, shouting to her mother,

"I'm going away for a week and might never come back! See you in Hell!" The woman who helped raise her had no reaction. She continued watching John Travolta sing "Greased Lightening". Jade ran out the front door, purposely leaving it wide open, much to the infuriation of her foster mother. She threw her giddy appearance to the ground, snatched her poise out of the wind, and coolly walked out to the driveway. This time, House was leaning on his motorcycle, which he had parked a few houses away. His cane looked very odd in his right hand. He put a helmet on and mounted his steel beast. He threw Jade the extra helmet and she reflexively caught it. She put it on, and got on behind him. House popped two Vicodin. He turned to her and said,

"Hold on tight baby." Jade laughed and said,

"Hold on to your cane Limpy." She put her arms around him, and he almost choked. It seemed there was a viper around his middle, not some 16-year-old-girl's arms. He said,

"Not that tight tonight, hooker baby." Jade laughed again and said,

"Give it your best shot, Limpy." He revved the engine on his bike and they were off like a herd of stampeding turtles. As they drove, Jade let her mind examine and dissect her conversation with her mother. This was something she had often done with her other acquaintances. She would ask the most mundane question, and would gain a boatload of facts about the questionee. Her mother was one of the hardest people to read for her. Or maybe she didn't want to read into her mother in case this all turned out to be some nasty scam. Cuddy's list thus far looked like this:

1) Head honcho at the hospital

2) Loving

3) Wants a daughter

4) Misses me??

As much as she analyzed the conversation, she couldn't glean more information than this. Instead, she turned her attention to House. His list looked like this:

1) Employee at a hospital

2) high-up at hospital since Cuddy sent him

3) A semi-pervert, at least

4) Likes the freedom and speed his motorcycle gives him

5) Trusted by Cuddy

6) Doesn't respond to name calling

Jade decided at the next gas station she would talk to him, and hopefully learn more about him. About a half-hour later, they pulled into a Sinclair station. Jade questioned House while he ate his well-deserved breakfast.

"What's your position at the hospital?"

"None of your damn business."

"What's the technical term for that?"

"Shut the Hell up?"

"Is there a reason you're antisocial?"

"Piss off." Jade smiled at his responses.

"Tell me about your personal life."

"Like Hell I will. Tell me about your night life." He waggled his eyebrows suggestively. Jade instantly turned from a gawky nosy teenager to sex kitten as she closed her eyes until they were seductive slits. She put her hands on his shirt, playing with the buttons as she unbuttoned them down to the bottom of his ribcage. She looked up at him through her lashes, slyly saying,

"Not much to tell. No nightclubs, no boyfriends. A girl like me is desperate to get into any guy's pants." With that, she forced his face toward hers, and she kissed him passionately. He thought she was moving fast, but kissed her back. He had both his hands rubbing up and down her arms, and she had on in his hair, and the other who knows where. Just then, House felt something chillingly cold trickle down his spine. He pulled back, and realized Jade had dumped his ice water down the back of his shirt. She laughed at him, and got up. She walked over to the bike, swinging her hips, and put on her helmet. She threw House his and said,

"Limpy, you couldn't handle me if you tried. Let's ride." He smiled, and limped over to the bike. He put on his helmet, revved the engine, and they were off again.

Jade reviewed all she knew about House. Her list hadn't changed much:

7) Anti-social

8) Desperate to get into any woman's pants

9) Talks little


	2. A Long Awaited Reunion

They stopped a few more times, but Jade didn't bother to ask any more questions, knowing she wouldn't get any more answers. So the rest of the trip passed without any recreational talk. When House finally pulled into the hospital parking lot, the sun was but a sliver of light on the western horizon. The beautiful moon, in all her pearly glory had already begun her journey across the heavens. House and Jade entered the double doors, and House asked the receptionist,

"Is Dr. Cuddy still in?" The nurse looked up, surprised at his ability to get straight to the point without any silly sex talk. She said,

"What, no invitations back to your place when I get off?" House opened his mouth to answer, put Jade beat him to it. She said quietly,

"Please, Mrs.… Anderson." The woman looked at her and said snappily,

"And who are you?" Jade abandoned her quiet pretense and huffed, saying,

"Look, bitch. I've spent the past 11 hours on a motorcycle. I'm tired. I'm hungry. I'm already pissed at the asshole behind me, so please don't antagonize me. I'm tired, but I desperately want to beat the shit out of some helpless nurse. AKA: You." She glared at Mrs. Anderson pointedly. The woman sighed and said,

"Fine. Cuddy's still in her office." Jade replied as she walked away,

"Thank you." She then double-flipped the nurse off as she passed by. House trailed in the wake of her commanding aura. He would have sworn that when she walked by, there was a hot summer breeze following her and rustling the papers, but it could have been his Vicodin playing tricks on him.

As soon as they were out of the nurse's hearing and sight, Jade sighed, and let her pissy appearance drop, leaving her exhausted and tired. House smirked at her, but didn't say anything. Jade motioned for him to lead, and he did so, limping through the halls to the elevator. When they got in, Jade happened to catch a glimpse of her face. She stared at the mirror behind the elevator level buttons. Her hair was wild. Her eyes were droopy, but fortunately lit with some sort of nervous or angry fire. She was slightly hunched, and was obviously trying to fight off sleep. She instantly stood up straight, and forced her eyes to lose the fear. Jade pulled a brush out of the outer pocket on her duffel bag, and attempted to tame her long tangled mane. House surreptitiously watched her, and smiled to himself, thinking how she looked just fine, and how he had looked worse. He frowned at his own memories, and shut them out quickly.

When the elevator stopped at their floor, Jade wanted to leap out, and run screaming through the halls, laughing at her freedom. Instead, she swallowed the feeling, and walked out with as much sophistication as she could muster. House followed, and had to do his very best not to laugh at her. Jade soon fell back and into step with House, asking him the question she just realized she didn't have an answer for,

"What's Dr. Cuddy like?" House thought for a bit, and said,

"Hmm… nice ass and amazing cups. Oh, you meant her personality?" Jade rolled her eyes, but said nothing, waiting for him to answer her question. He sighed and said,

"She cares too much for rules, is married to her job, and actually cares for the patients." He didn't say any more, ignoring Jade's cool blue stare. She soon stopped staring, and nodded to herself.

All too soon for Jade, they were in front of the door with 'Dr. Lisa Cuddy; Dean of Medicine'. Jade wasn't ready for this, and she knew her heart was beating loud enough for the state of New Jersey to hear her. Jade took a deep breath, and silently pushed the door open.

Dr. Cuddy was seated in her desk, facing away from her visitors. Her long brown hair flowed down to mid-back on her slim form. In her peripheral vision, Jade saw House taking in Cuddy's form. She almost told him to stop drooling over his boss, but didn't. She got the feeling there was more chemistry between these two doctors than there was between two lovers hand-in-hand walking along the beach. House said,

"Are we going to have to wait all night? I'm just asking because I can think of better things to do _all night_." Cuddy visibly jumped at the sound of his voice and she slowly turned her chair toward them. Her eyes paused only for a second to take in House, and then they continued roaming over to Jade, and there they stopped and widened. Cuddy slowly rose from her chair, never breaking eye contact. She slowly walked around her desk, almost like she was sleep- walking. Suddenly, she switched from her zombie walk to a sprinter's run to Jade, hugging her fiercely. House huffed annoyed, and sank into a chair. Both Cuddy and Jade ignored him, having eyes and ears for only each other.

Cuddy was the first to break the embrace, and she held Jade at arm's length, taking in everything about her. Jade examined Cuddy back, and discovered, much to her surprise, that she didn't have the grey-blue eyes of her mother. _I must have inherited them from my father, _thought Jade. Cuddy whispered to herself,

"She has her father's eyes." confirming Jade's suspicions. House cleared his throat loudly, but Cuddy and Jade once again ignored him. Cuddy's eyes suddenly took on an alarmed look as she realized she had said her realization out loud. She quickly recovered from her small shock, and said in a very business-like manner, "Hello Jade. It's so nice to finally meet you. I certainly hope Dr. House wasn't rude on your trip over." She turned to House and glared at him. Jade laughed and said,

"No, he was a good little boy." Cuddy looked at her skeptically, and said,

"Really?" Jade nodded. Cuddy looked at House and then back to Jade, saying, "I'm quite impressed. I was quite sure he would continue his habit of making certain… comments." Jade laughed, and said,

"If by 'certain comments' you mean sexual invitations, I dealt with his lack of manners and crude words. I hope will change his ways, and other women will give him the **cold** shoulder as I have." She turned her head and smirked at House. Cuddy guessed from Jade's smirk and House's pouting frown he hadn't liked how she had dealt with him. Cuddy smiled, but the humor was short lived when she remembered what she still had to accomplish. She walked over to her door, and without any explanation, locked the door with her key. House said,

"If you're going to lock out the rest of the world while we have rough and vigorous sex, you might want to usher the child out of the room. Of course, if she is to participate in the party, I will be very welcoming, and try to go easy on her." Cuddy ignored him, and Jade said,

"Once again, I must tell you to hold on to your tiny cane." Cuddy smiled as she turned her back from Jade and her comeback recipient. She sat behind her desk, and motioned for Jade to sit as well. She did so with a straight back and feet planted firmly on the ground. House sighed, and took out his yo-yo and started playing with the child's toy. Cuddy told him bluntly,

"House, Jade is my daughter." Jade whipped her head around quickly, knowing House's reaction would be worth the pain of her neck cracking. He lost his rhythm, and the yo-yo clattered to the floor. He stared at her, mouth gaping and eyes bulging. He shouted,

**"Why the Hell didn't you keep her?"** Cuddy sighed and said,

"That is for reasons that shall remain undisclosed to you forever." Cuddy sighed again, and rubbed her temples repeatedly. She said,

"There is something you should know, the both of you. House, who is Jade's father?" Jade turned to face House again so fast her neck cracked again, but she ignored the pain. She saw House making mental calculations and he finally said,

"Wilson, that damn bastard." Cuddy smiled and shook her head, saying,

"No, you're wrong. For your information, I never slept with Wilson. House, you're the father." He stared at Jade, and Jade stared at him. Both were looking for any similar characteristics. _The eyes, obviously, _thought Jade, _the nose and ears maybe. Our chins are almost identical. Our personalities are fairly close too. But he wants to get into anyone's pants and I don't._ Jade saw he had reached the same conclusions as her. It all was too much for House. He grabbed his cane, and hurried to the door. When he tried to escape, the door wouldn't budge. Cuddy smiled and said,

"I know you too well, House." Jade turned back to Cuddy and asked,

"Just one quick question: Am I Jade House, Jade Cuddy, or Jade Winters?" Cuddy looked at Jade, surprised that she was taking this astronomical news so well. Cuddy answered,

"I-I don't know. What do you want to be?" Jade answered readily,

"I want to be just plain old Jade until I choose." Cuddy said hesitantly,

"Forgive me for asking, but why aren't you the least bit phased by this whole new-parents thing?" Jade replied readily,

"Because the old parents sucked. I figure if you really want a kid, you can't be all _that_ bad. Also, there isn't any reason for me to get upset. Emotions are illusions; we created them to only fill the empty chasm of nothingness in our brain. We use them for the silliest purposes, like to make decisions. They are nothing but obstacles to overcome in our quest to cleanse ourselves of emotion, and live only on logic and reasoning, thus eliminating all confusing factors and grey zones from our decision making process." House thought, _That sounds like the exact same thing I would say. This really is my daughter. Damn it. _Cuddy looked at Jade surprised. This wasn't the most common reasoning for her lacking of emotional response. Cuddy shot House a look that said, Do-you-believe-me-now? He rolled his eyes, and asked,

"Now that we got Jade's screwed-up heritage straight, can I go?" Cuddy said,

"Not yet. Jade has to release you." House looked at Jade, and she shook her head. She said,

"There are still a few things I want to iron out. Where will I be staying tonight? Can I come to work with you two? Do I have any siblings?" Cuddy was surprised at her last question. She answered,

"No, you don't have any siblings on my side. I can't speak for your father." House mutely shook his head. Cuddy continued, "Yes, you can come to work with us. You can choose whose home you stay at forever. Of course, you can change your mind down the road." Jade thought for a while, and then asked,

"Mom? Can I stay at your house for tonight, and then Limpy's later?" Cuddy nodded, and said,

"Your father agrees as well." Jade clapped her hands and rubbed them together, saying,

"Well, what time do you doctors generally go home?" Cuddy glanced at the clock on her computer and said,

"Right about now. I'll answer for House, since he seems to have temporarily lost his voice. Your father leaves whenever the hell he can sneak out." Jade nodded and said,

"I'm ready to go whenever you are." Cuddy smiled and replied,

"I'll be ready as soon as I shut down my computer. Here, let your father escape to the waiting Vicodin and scotch." Cuddy threw Jade the key and Jade caught it with surprising skill. She unlocked the door, and moved back so her father could get out. He ran/limped out as fast as his cane would allow him. Jade smiled to herself. He was doing the exact same thing she would have done had she been in his position: running away. Jade sank into the nearest chair, and laid her head back, waiting for her mother to finish with her computer. She sighed, letting warmth she had never known before suffuse her consciousness. Jade closed her eyes, and smiled to herself. She was home.


	3. Getting To Know You

(A/N: Sorry I haven't updated in forever. I've been working on my MMAD story Notes, and since I already have this entire story typed up, it really isn't high up on my priorities list. Still, I love you all. Have fun and please review even though I'm such a bitch!)

Jade set her bag down, and said appreciatively,

"Nice place." She gave herself a self-guided tour, her mother following anxiously. When they reached the spare bedroom, Jade said,

"This is my room." It was more of a question than statement, but she knew she was right. To confirm Jade's suspicions, Cuddy nodded. Jade looked more closely at this room than at the others they had previously passed. The walls were a warm light brown, and the carpeting was the shaggy kind you can lose your feet in. The most interesting thing was the bedside table. Where most other people have pictures of themselves, their spouse and them, or siblings, Cuddy had pictures of babies. Jade found them rather repetitive. All were smiling, all were so cute Jade wanted to barf, and all had naked butts. Just as she turned away, Jade caught a glimpse of her father. She turned back and snatched his picture up from the sea of babies.

He was smiling, for once. All of his facial features were completely parallel, and yet they all fit in with him. The bright blue eyes, the salt-and-pepper hair, and the half-shaven scraggly beard somehow fit perfectly onto his face. He looked more like the handsome professor every girl fell in love with, not the sarcastic gruff doctor that he was. She put the picture back, and said casually,

"Just out of curiosity… how did you get that picture?" Cuddy smiled, trying to look happy. Jade, however, detected a small trace of sadness. Cuddy said,

"To tell you the truth, I cut it out of the grad book, and made a few small adjustments. Lighting, backround, smile, and size had to be changed." Jade nodded and said,

"So speaking of him, how are things between you and Dad?" Her mother sighed and said,

"I yell at him daily, we fight daily, I secretly love him daily. I still don't understand how we ended up in bed together." Jade nodded and said,

"I don't get it either." Jade thought a while longer, and then asked, "Can we sit down on the couch? I think we will have quite a long conversation tonight." Cuddy said,

"Sure, sure." They moved to the family room, and plopped down onto the couch. Jade turned to Cuddy and asked concernedly,

"What happened? Why didn't you and Dad move in together, or at least act more civilized toward each other?" Cuddy's eyes turned sad, and misted over. She stared at the electric fire. Jade didn't say anything. She knew her mother was remembering the night and following morning of her conception. Cuddy said simply,

"He wasn't there in the morning. No note, no apology, nothing. We never told anyone about. With all the whores he's had, I think he completely forgot about that night until you showed up. When I told him, I think that I saw a small amount of pride and happiness in his eyes. I'm very glad that you came along." Jade asked,

"Why did you give me up? Dad said you wanted a kid badly, and you just confirmed you're happy I came along, so you can't regret my existence." Cuddy said sadly,

"I was hoping you wouldn't say that. I had an affair with your father back in med school. When I realized I was expecting you, I tried to hide the bump I knew would be coming. I learned to wear loose shirts. I skipped school the week I was due, and for a few weeks after you were born, so I could care for you." Jade mulled this over, and said,

"Why did you try to hide you were pregnant? Were you ashamed of me?" Cuddy took Jade's hand and said,

"No! That's not it at all! It was my silly pride. I didn't want it going around that the head of the class was an easy whore. Also, I was afraid House would ignore me, hate me, and distance himself from me. I've been crazy about him since I first saw him. Anyway, when you were born, I knew I wouldn't be able to care for you. The schedule of a med student leaves very little spare time. I put you up for adoption. I thought you would be better off with another family. I thought that after med school, I could just have another baby. As you can see, I failed miserably." She smiled sadly. Jade stared at the fire, thinking. She asked yet another question,

"Why did you take so long to come get me?" Cuddy looked sad again. Jade knew this truly mad her mother sad, but Jade had to ask. She had to know the answers if she was going to try to make their relationship work. Cuddy answered,

"It took me 11 years to find you." Jade nodded. That was understandable. She moved around a lot. None of the other foster parents wanted Jade after she moved in. They just didn't like her view on life. Her pessimistic comments, her embarrassing correct conclusions, even her style made her some alien creature they had to get rid of. Jade leaned back on the couch, and sighed. Tonight's conversations needed further analysis, but she had done enough thinking. Besides, her mother already looked sad enough. Jade put on a smile and said,

"I've been asking all the questions so far. Don't you have any for me?" Cuddy's face lit up, and she said,

"How was your last foster mother? What's your favorite subject in school? How are you doing in school? Who are your friends? Can you describe them for me? Do you" Cuddy cut off and blushed. Jade smiled and said,

"My favorite hobbies are reading, writing, and drawing. I got As and Bs mostly in school and my favorite subject is –of course—English. My last foster mother was OK. I mean, she didn't break any child labor laws, and she wasn't overly abusive. She just didn't take much interest in how I was doing. If I got an A+ on a test, she wouldn't really notice. When I got my tattoo 2 years ago, she didn't even notice. By the way, I have a tattoo of a frog on the side of my left ankle. My friends: That's a hard subject. Some of my friends are Drama Club geeks, one is a math nerd—in school, we call those people the nerd herd—and a few others are just the kind of people that listen to jokes and laugh at the right times, myself included. We're just the audience. Some of my friends truly amaze me. One friend, she has a very high probability to get cancer. She already has back problems and is scared to death she will die on the table. Another friend actually, the Nerd Herd one, his dad is a missionary or something like that in Iraq, so he hasn't see him in months. I think that everyone I hang out with has a screwed-up family life. Another used to have an eating problem. One has to have the limelight always. As you can se, we are all fairly dysfunctional. All of us would die to live in each other's shoes, if only to escape our own demons. You almost asked me something, but then you didn't. What as it?" Cuddy was slightly gawking at Jade. She had just revealed so much of herself to a complete stranger. Cuddy blinked and shook her head. She said,

"Oh, um… I was going to ask you if you have a boyfriend." Jade smiled mischievously and said,

"I'll tell you about my love life if you tell me how many times you have had sex with my dad, and how many times you have kissed." Cuddy looked at her incredulously. She said,

"Why do you think I would make that deal? Besides, you would be telling me about one thing I would be telling you about two."

"How do you know I don't have two categories? Besides, all mothers want to know about their daughter's love life." Jade saw the fear in her mother's eyes. She smiled evilly in her head, thinking_, MWAHAHAHAHA!!!!_ Cuddy sighed again, and said,

"Let me see… we've kissed 6 times. We slept together twice. Now, about you, tell me about your life." Jade's face broke into a large grin. She said gleefully,

"Nonexistent. Friends with two boys neither are boyfriends. I have a zero in both accounts." Cuddy said relieved,

"I don't know whether to be sad for you or to be happy you aren't screwing around." They talked for the rest of the night, mostly about fluff. Opinions on whether the Denver Broncos had a chance defeating the Cardinals, and other such uninteresting conversation. Around 1 am, Jade said,

"Tell me about my Dad." Cuddy's easy smile was replaced by a thoughtful line. She said after a few minutes,

"He's always saving lives, but he goes to outrageous lengths to find out what's wrong. Where most doctors stop looking and give up, he does some outrageous test—usually without my or the patient's permission. Of course, he finds out what's wrong. He's antisocial, sarcastic, and overall very cynical. He has one actual friend other than me, if you're thinking I fit under the friend category. His name is Dr. James Wilson. He doesn't know about you. Actually, House might have called him, told him, and they are sitting in some stripper bar right now. Wilson would be telling him that he has to share his feelings with you, although I know you can read him easier than reading a book simply because you're his daughter. House would be denying having any feelings for you, although you and I both know he will protect you more fiercely than anyone else, aside from myself." Jade nodded, and smiled.

Actually at that very moment, House was lying asleep on his couch, iPod headphones blasting in his ears and an almost empty bottle of scotch in his limp hand. As soon as he had gotten to his apartment, he had downed two Vicodin and turned immediately to his faithful bottles of scotch.

THE NEXT MORNING…

The next morning, Jade found herself being shaken awake at the crack of 4:30. Her mother said apologetically,

"Jade, I'm sorry, but it's time to get up. I have to be in a meeting at 6:00, and you wanted to come to work with me." Jade blearily blinked her eyes; Cuddy's face slowly coming into focus. Jade yawned and said,

"OK. I'll be out in 10 minutes." Cuddy smiled warmly and left the room. Jade promptly went back to sleep.

Half an hour later, Cuddy checked on her again, and found her snoozing away. She chuckled and woke Jade up again. She was slightly more alert this time when she woke up. She said,

"I'm sorry. I'm not used to being up this early. This time I promise I will only be ten minutes. Jade got up and started rummaging around in her backpack. Cuddy left again, smiling to herself.

When Jade came out exactly 10 minutes later, no one ever would have guessed she had been sleeping ten minutes earlier. She wore an orange tank-top and dark blue jean shorts. Her hair and clear blue eyes shone in the shaft of morning light filtering through the drawn blinds. She wore penny earrings and a penny necklace. Cuddy couldn't believe this was the same girl she had woken up that morning. Cuddy smiled and said,

"Are you sure you didn't have a boyfriend back at the Winters' home? I find it hard to believe any boy could resist your looks." Jade blushed and said,

"I'm sure. What do you have for food this fine morning?" Cuddy got up and started going through her cupboards, hunting for any food a teenager would like. She said,

"um… I have some cereal and toast?"

"What kind of cereal do you have?" Jade said, walking over. She looked in the cupboard and said grabbing the box, "Cheerios will be good. Where are the bowls and spoons?" Cuddy pointed to another cupboard and a drawer as she continued eating her bowl of Frosted Mini Wheats. Jade poured her bowl, and they ate in silence.

Almost half an hour later, they were in the car driving to PPTH. The ride was also silent. Cuddy was pondering how to tell Wilson and House's ducklings about Jade. Jade was wondering what Wilson was like, and what she would do for the rest of the day. She thought about watching her mother, but decided that watching her father would be more fun.

When they reached the hospital, Cuddy took Jade straight to Wilson's office. She knocked on the door and a "Who is it?" answered her knock. She said back to the door,

"This is Lisa, James." Wilson came to the door and said,

"Yes Lisa? What can I do for y" Wilson cut himself off when he saw Jade's curious eyes examining him. He said nervously under the 16-year-old's penetrating gaze, "Who is this?" Cuddy said nervously,

"Erm…" Jade saved her mother and answered,

"I am Jade C. H. Dr. Cuddy needs you to watch me until she is done in her meeting. She doesn't have time to explain any more. Dr. Cuddy, you better hurry if you want to be on time for your meeting." Jade winked at her and Cuddy said,

"Yes, I have to go. Wilson, please watch her for me. Thanks." She left quickly down the hall. Jade and Wilson stood in the doorway, staring at each other. Wilson was trying to figure out what to do with her, and Jade was memorizing his face for future reference. She said coolly,

"Since you seem to have lost your tongue for the moment, I will assume you mean to warmly invite me in and I shall save you the trouble of saying it. If you will please move, we can continue this conversation in your office." Wilson snapped out of his thoughts and numbly moved out of the way for Jade. She walked in, and looked around his office inquisitively. She sat down on the chair usually occupied by patients, and he sat down behind his desk. He knew it would be rude to simply ignore her, but he didn't know what to talk about. He said awkwardly,

"What do the C and H in your name stand for?" Jade smirked, wishing she had popcorn to eat when this man realized that she was his best friends' offspring. She said readily,

"They stand for House and Cuddy. Yes, they are my parents. Once you have absorbed the fact that your two best friends have a child they didn't tell you about, we can continue the conversation again." She smiled at Wilson's shocked face. _Oh, this is going to be fun,_ thought Jade. She knew he needed proof. Sure enough, he said,

"Prove it. What do you think about happiness?" Jade replied solemnly,

"Happiness is an illusion, a mirage, a hallucination, if you will. We humans do stupid crap to make ourselves think we are happy, when all we need to do is tell ourselves we are happy, and then we're happy. It really is pathetic that no one else is willing to admit the truth." She smiled smugly, knowing from Wilson's satisfied expression that this is what he would have expected House's daughter to say. She leaned forward on the desk, and Wilson instinctively did the same. Jade whispered, "I will tell you the whole story about everything House has done. I'll tell you about Cuddy too if you want. You get all that juicy blackmail if you help me set them up. I know you will agree because you won't get all the juicy details from anyone else." Wilson was surprised that this girl already knew that her parents belonged together. She was very perceptive. _Then again, _thought Wilson, _I shouldn't be surprised. She is House's daughter after all._ He sighed and said,

"Fine, tell it to me from the top." Jade grinned and told him the whole shebang. When she got to the part about House seriously hitting on her Wilson said, "That man is disgusting. Then again, it wouldn't be the first time he hit on a teenager. I can't believe he would hit on his own flesh and blood though." Jade said,

"He didn't know I was his daughter then. Anyway, he would have stopped even if I wasn't his daughter." Wilson's eyebrows shot up. Jade said, "I doused him in ice water." Then they both laughed at the mental picture.

When Jade finished the story, Wilson was smiling along with her. He said happily,

"Lunch today will be quite the scene. Now, how do you plan to get them together?"


	4. Getting to Know You Part 2

House awoke from his scotch-induced sleep to the ringing of his phone. He blearily picked it up and said into it,

"Somebody better be dying, or it'll be you." Wilson replied to his cheery greeting,

"Good morning to you too. Get your ass down here. It's lunch. Your daughter misses you." Wilson laughed, and House hung up on him. He let his head sink back into the couch. The previous night's events all came rushing back to him. He tried to get up and find more scotch, but his hangover, the pain in his leg, and the thought of his daughter forced him back to the couch he had passed out on. He dug the heels of hand into his eyes, wishing it all would go away. Then again, he couldn't shake the proud feeling that he was a father. As much as he denied the world and himself, he knew deep down that he wanted Jade, and that whoever tried to take her away would perish a horrible and grisly death if she was unhappy.

BACK AT THE HOSPITAL…

When Cuddy's meeting finally got over, she rushed to Wilson's office as fast as her stilettos would let her. When she got there, she pushed the door open without knocking, and thus caught Jade and Wilson like deer in headlights. Wilson's computer was put on the desk facing both of them, but it was positioned so that Cuddy couldn't see it. They had been so immersed in their conversation; neither had given a thought as to what they would do if Cuddy caught them. Wilson casually shifted a piece of paper so Cuddy couldn't read it. Jade shut her notebook quickly. Cuddy knew she had interrupted something and said,

"What are you two planning?" Jade lied flawlessly,

"Nothing concerning you, Mom. We were just playing Solitaire. Oh Wilson? Let's put the Queen of Hearts on the King of Clubs." Jade tipped him an enormous wink, and both of them smiled at some inside joke. She left with Cuddy. As they walked down the hall, Wilson ran out of his and jogged to catch up to them. He said,

"Just a minute Cuddy. I thought we were friends, and yet when this girl shows up in my office at your command and says she is your daughter, you don't say a thing about it. Cuddy, what's going on?" She sighed. Cuddy really didn't want to explain the details to anyone, but Wilson was a long-standing friend. She said,

"Yes James, this is my daughter. No further explanation is needed. Is House in yet?" Wilson shrugged. He started to walk away when Cuddy said,

"Now I get ask the question. What were you and Jade really talking about?" Wilson and Jade exchanged uneasy glances. They both knew they would either have to reveal their secret or lie to Cuddy. Jade said,

"We were playing Solitaire. You caught us by surprise when you walked through the door." Cuddy still didn't quite buy it, but she knew she wouldn't find out anymore. Wilson looked concernedly at Jade, but she ignored him. Cuddy huffed and took off again down the hall. Wilson and Jade exchanged winks again, and Jade followed her mother.

On the way to Cuddy's office, Jade asked,

"Mom, can I watch Dad work today" Cuddy said,

"Sure. You can wait for him in his office. It is the one that says 'Head of Diagnostics' and has his name on it. He will be in soon." She gave Jade the directions and Jade left with a "Thanks"

HALF AN HOUR LATER…

House walked into his office to find Jade sitting in his chair, bouncing _his_ ball against the wall. Without turning around she said,

"'Bout time you showed up Limpy." She knew very well that for the next few years he would prefer to be called "Limpy" over "Dad", at least until he got used to the idea. She sensed him relax only minimally. She turned around and caught the ball that had been bouncing back to her with her back turned. House thought how many times he had tried that and failed miserably. Jade said, "You're a filthy rich doctor. You don't get rich sitting around on your ass doing nothing. Besides annoy Mom, what do you do all day?" House replied,

"Let's see… Annoy Cuddy; save life; bounce ball; play PSP; insult underlings; hit on nurses. I really do have a very busy day. What did you expect?" Jade answered smartly,

"I kind of thought 'work' might be in there. 'Clinic duty', perhaps?" House rolled his eyes and said,

"What do you think my ducklings do all day?" Jade rolled her eyes, and didn't bother asking about the ducklings. She said slyly,

"You know, I told Wilson all about me. ALL about me, if you get my drift. He's definitely looking forward to lunch today. If you went to talk to him now, your med school scandal wouldn't become public." House winced at the notion of anyone knowing about his accidental daughter. Then, a thought occurred to him, and he perked up. He said evilly,

"If Wilson makes a scene, people will ask who the mother is. Cuddy will never be able to live this one down." Jade countered,

"Ahh, but do you really think her wishing to blast your guts to Kingdom Come is the best way to get into her pants. It's all the same to me; it just depends on whether she is fun in bed for you." Jade smiled knowingly, and House grimaced. He reluctantly rose from his chair, and growled,

"Fine. I'm going to see Wilson. Happy now?" Jade smiled, and rose from her seat as well. She followed him to the door, where he turned to her and said, "Since when has there been a 'we' in 'I'?" Jade replied quickly,

"Since you became a father, _Dad_." Jade saw him wince again at her slight emphasis on the last word. She said with fake concern, "What, you got a little twitch? You should get that checked out. You keep doing this." And she demonstrated his wincing. He lightly smacked her on the shin with his cane, and continued out into the hallway. Jade followed eagerly.

When they reached Wilson's office, House tried to open the door and just barge in. As expected, the door was locked. House was about to shout something, but Jade beat him to the punch. She shrieked at the door in a perfect imitation of her mother, horrified,

"OH MY GOD! House! House! Can you hear me?" She followed that by sobbing uncontrollably. The door was soon thrown open by a breathless Wilson, his eyes wide and fearful. Jade nearly died of laughing at his frightened face. House smirked that Wilson fell for his daughter's trick. Jade turned to her father, who said,

"Alright, that was good." Jade replied in a loud voice,

"Bet your ass that was good! Wilson, you should have seen your face! Damn, I forgot my camera!" An elderly nurse walked up to Jade and said,

"Ma'am, I'm sorry but you must keep your voice down, and please refrain from using your volatile language." Jade sobered up immediately and said,

"I sincerely apologize to you Ma'am. I forgot myself there for a second. I will try to remember that I am in a hospital and the nurses here are killjoys." Jade turned away and walked through Wilson's open office door. The old nurse shot a nasty glance at Wilson, as though it was his fault Jade had treated her rudely. He shrugged, grabbed House's arm, and dragged him into the office.

Jade sat in the patient's chair, and was still quietly laughing at Wilson and the nurse. Wilson said,

"Jade, that is no way to treat hospital staff. Your father seems to have no inclination to punish you as he should, so I will. You are nasty, unethical, manipulative, and will stop at nothing to achieve your own ends. You do your father proud." He smiled at the end. Jade looked up at her father admiringly. Wilson's smile disappeared as he turned to House shouted…


	5. Reactions

"Why the Hell didn't you tell me that you have a daughter?" House calmly replied,

"Did you ever notice how you start every exclamation with 'What the Hell'?" He took out his yo-yo, and started playing with it. Jade sat in the corner, letting Wilson's tirade on her father wash over her. She was absorbed in watching her father's reaction to his lecture on how friendship and trust worked. She was fascinated how unphazed he was to Wilson. She loved how he completely tuned Wilson out. It was almost like he didn't hear him. Then she noticed something. She could have kicked her self for not seeing it earlier. House had earbuds in his ears! Jade grinned and interrupted Wilson, saying,

"Is my dad always like this?" Wilson sighed and said,

"Yes, but its worse with Cuddy." Jade said skeptically,

"Does he do this," and she pulled out his headphones, "to Cuddy?" Wilson sighed exasperated. House's only reaction to the loss of his music was,

"Is the Great Lecture done? Because I would love to have my Hotel California back." Jade smiled again. Just then, House's pager went off. He looked at it and said,

"As much as I hate to bring this heart-warming conversation to a close, my ducklings are calling me." He rose, and left. He looked away just as Wilson winked at Jade, and she winked back. On the way to House's office, House said to Jade,

"For your information, I am the one who gets to piss Wilson off. And he is far too old for you. Stop flirting." Jade shot a him a dirty look, but said nothing. A few yards later, Jade said,

"Who are the ducklings?" House replied,

"They are the sorry saps that do my bidding to save the other sorry saps of the world." Jade nodded and thought, _Translation: They are the suckers that work under him he gets to boss around._

When they entered the diagnostics room, everyone looked at House as he entered. A woman opened her mouth to read something off of a paper, but stopped when she saw Jade. She said,

"Who is this?" House almost answered, but once again, Jade was too quick for him. She said,

"I am Jade Cuddy House. House is my father. Cuddy is my mother. Now that we have that cleared up, who are you people?" It took all of the other employees a few seconds to take in the fact House and Cuddy had done the nasty. House took advantage of their stunned silence to limp over to his office and close the door on his team. The woman was the first to recover, saying,

"Dr. Hadley. Also known as Thirteen." A dark-skinned man who seemed to have more presence than the woman and other man said,

"Foreman." The other previously mentioned man said,

"Taub." Forman rose and knocked on the glass door to House's office. He said,

"House, be Superman and save the patient." House replied from within,

"Hang on; I'm having trouble getting into my tights." He emerged from his lair, and Thirteen said,

"22 year-old male, collapsed at his wedding, high BP, coughing up blood." House sighed exasperated and said,

"You've all gone through med school, except for Taub. What do I usually say?" Taub and Thirteen were silent, but Foreman spoke up saying,

"Sedate him, MRI…" House moved his hand in a keep-thinking motion. Nobody said anything as they flipped through their mental med school textbooks. House sighed again and said,

"Taub, do a MRI after he's sedated. Thirteen go check his home for toxins. Foreman, go do my clinic hours." He threw Foreman his nametag, and walked into his office. Jade followed. House at in his chair, and bounced his red and grey ball against the floor. Jade said,

"So… now what?" House replied without breaking the beat of his ball,

"Now we wait for the ducklings to get back to me with the MRI that will show nothing." Jade nodded and looked out the window. She noticed a small garden and said,

"Can I go to the hospital gardens?" House nodded and said,

"Don't let Cuddy catch you." Jade said,

"I think I might shout my immediate heritage to the lobby on my way out." She left before House could come up with any smartass comments. Once she was at the gardens, she whipped out her phone and dialed the number for the hospital. A woman picked up and said,

"Princeton-Plainsborough Teaching Hospital." Jade replied into the phone,

"Yes, I was wondering if you could put me through to the hospital's head oncologist."

"One moment please." Jade waited patiently as she was transferred. Wilson picked up and said,

"Dr. Wilson, oncologist." Jade said,

"Hey Wilson, it's Jade. Did you get everything set up for Tuesday?" He said,

"Yep. Olive Garden has a reservation for the party of Cuddy/House for 6:30. They know not to reveal any names. Tomorrow Cuddy will be getting her flowers from Mr. Right. All you have to do is text your dad. Got it?" Jade replied,

"Yep. Hey Wilson?"

"Yeah?"

"How long have you been trying to set my parents up?" Wilson paused and said,

"About 5 years. Don't expect any miracles, Jade. They are the most stubborn people on the planet." Jade smiled and said proudly,

"And they're my parents. With my luck, I'll be stubborn to the brink of stupidity, and will have the astronomical IQ of a female version of Einstein." Wilson said,

"You definitely have a few things going for you, that's for sure." Jade smiled again and said,

"Thanks. 'Bye."

"Bye. Good Luck." Jade hung up. She laughed to herself. This was going to be waaay too much fun.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOoOo

As soon as Jade was out of his sight, House turned on his computer. He had gone 3 days without his valued porn. He knew better than to have it around when Jade was there. Just then, his cellphone buzzed at him, an indication he had received a text. He picked it up and the text read:

Hot stuff—

Meet me Olive Garden 6:30 on Tues. night. I am free that night. ALL that night.

Sexily yours,

Sex Kitten xxxxxxxxxxxx

House raised his eyebrows at the excess amount of kisses at the end. Whoever this lady was, she sure moved fast. He replied,

Sex Kitten—

Ill b ther

Hot Stuff xxxxxxxxxxx

When Jade saw the reply, she started to laugh. For her father being a genius, he sure was gullible.


	6. The Date

_(A/N: I'm so very very sorry that I haven't updated this in forever. I had plenty of reviews, but I just kept on getting distracted by my other stories. Then my computer caught a goddamn virus, and that took forever to get rid of. So, I decided to just go ahead and post everything right now before I forget or get distracted again. Enjoy!)_

Cuddy arrived at the restaurant first. When she was shown to her table, there were two nameplates. One said, 'Cuddy' and the other read 'Mr. Right'. Cuddy put her purse on her chair, and went to the bathroom to check her hair and make-up.

House arrived through another entrance. When he was shown to the same table he saw two nameplates that read 'Hot Stuff' and the other 'Sex Kitten'. He sat down behind his nameplate, and waited patiently for his date to show.

He didn't have to wait long. When Cuddy emerged from the restroom, she took one look at her table, and her heart stopped. Why was _he_ here? And how had he found out about it? Cuddy almost went out the backdoor, but he had spotted her. His face paled, and he looked at the other nameplate. When he flipped around, Cuddy saw that on the opposite side it read not 'Cuddy', but 'Sex Kitten'. House looked up at her with a devilish grin, and beckoned for her to come forward. As badly as Cuddy wanted to slip away into the welcoming night, she couldn't refuse that lovely smile anything. Heck, she hadn't been able to refuse it for over 20 years. She slowly came forward, and sat down stiffly. She hissed at him,

"What do you think you are doing here?" House moved to turn his own nameplate, and grinned as she read his name. Cuddy paled visibly, and said hoarsely,

"What was with the flowers?" House said confusedly,

"Flowers? What was with your text?" Cuddy cocked her head at him. House pulled out his phone, and opened it to the text he had received earlier. Both felt a shiver go down their spines as Cuddy brushed House's hand when she grabbed the phone out of his hand. After Cuddy read it, she said,

"You really didn't send the flowers?" House shook his head. Cuddy brought out the card that had accompanied the bouquet of roses now sitting in her office. The card read:

Dear Lisa,

I will not reveal my name, only that I have admired you for many many years. If you would like to take a chance on an undeserving man in love, meet me at Olive Garden at 6:30 on Tuesday.

Love,

Mr. Right

House looked at it confused. It sounded like something that voice in his head might say. It happened to be the same voice he tried to squash whenever it told him to do anything humane. Both House and Cuddy sighed. They were both battling with 20 years of bickering and squabbling.

Finally, the floodgates of emotion burst open, and both let their feelings run rampant on their faces. They said nothing for a few minutes, both lost in the other's complexion. House was vaguely aware of ordering fettuccini alfredo, and Cuddy ordered the vegetarian pizza. House had never noticed just how plump her lovely ruby lips were, how her eyes sparkled in the light from the candle. He thought how perfect it was that there were a few strands of her chocolate brown hair. He reached out, and brushed them aside gently. He felt her warm skin shiver with pleasure under his light touch. If this was her reaction to just a small brushing of fingers and face, what would the reaction be if it was body on body?

Cuddy was equally lost in the lovely landscape of House's face. His blue eyes sparkled in the most wonderful way. She was suddenly gripped by a flashback:

_It was almost 17 years ago, and he had suddenly showed up on her dorm step. Whatever the pretense of his appearance was, it had been forgotten many years ago. She remembered looking into those eyes as she let him enter her body. She remembered the feeling of his hands sliding up and down her body. She remembered waking up, hoping against hope that those eyes would be there to gaze upon her loving. She remembered the angry disappointment and sad despair when all that was left of him in her dorm was the ruffled covers on the opposite side of the bed, and a forgotten t-shirt under her bed. She had clutched onto that shirt, wishing it was the man it belonged to. She had lain on her bed, crying into the clothing._

Cuddy rapidly blinked her eyes, bringing herself back to the present. As hard as she tried to break free of his intense gaze, and make coherent conversation, his gaze still wouldn't set her free, and once again she was lost in the turbulent ocean in his eyes. When she looked deep into those old eyes, she saw something deep down buried until just recently. What was it? Fear? Or—dare she think it—love? She couldn't decide. All she knew for sure was that this was the House she had seen that despairing night she had lost Joy. This was the House that actually cared. This House didn't tease her relentlessly about her body, or how she cared too much, or make sickening comments. This was a new House, and she was scared. She didn't know how to react to this new side of her old boyfriend and colleague. She knew how to play the game they had played for over 20 years. But when House started to act like a human being, she didn't know what to do. It seemed like just when she had learned the rules, he would switch the game. He started to talk, interrupting her deep thoughts. He said,

"Err… who do you think set this up?" Cuddy mentally exhaled. Now they had a puzzle, a case to solve. They were back on familiar ground. It helped the atmosphere in their corner of the world immensely. She said,

"I'll bet it was Wilson. He's been going for this since forever. But as romantic as Wilson may be, he doesn't have the imagination for that text." They both reached the same conclusion at the same time. They exclaimed,

"Jade!" House said bitterly,

"That daughter of ours is so intelligent; it makes her even more of a bitch than her mother. How dare she set me up?" Cuddy said understandingly,

"She's not a bitch, and neither am has I. Jade just wanted her parents together. You can't blame her for that." House rolled his eyes, and dug into the pasta in front of him. They said no more for the rest of the meal, but both knew something had dramatically shifted.

That night, both had come, disappointed and yet happy that it was the other. When they left, the pent-up love the had both nurtured for years was across their faces and all over their bodies.


	7. The Next Morning

Cuddy was the first up. Her first of three realizations was that for the third time, she had slept with Gregory House. That realization was quickly followed by the second realization that Jade had been left at the hospital all night alone in Cuddy's office. Cuddy looked across the bed, and realized that House was still asleep across from her, his hand resting on her hip. Cuddy slowly shifted his hand onto the warm bed where she had used to be. Once she left the bed, she came to the last realization: She was completely naked in House's apartment. As she searched for her clothes, she realized how this situation was just the opposite of how it was 17 years ago: House had left before she had awoken, and now she was leaving before he woke up. Cuddy found her shirt, skirt, and panties. She came up, clutching them to her chest, and she found House smiling at her mischievously. He once again beckoned to her. Cuddy moaned, threw her clothes back onto the floor, and threw her self at House. They kissed passionately, hands floating around randomly with minds of their own. When Cuddy finally came up for air, she said,

"Greg…" She didn't get much farther, since he silenced her by once again planting his moth firmly over hers. Cuddy momentarily surrendered. The next time she came up, she gently but firmly planted a hand on House's chest, saying,

"Jade. She was at the hospital all night. We have to get her." House let go of Cuddy, the passionate spell they had cast dissipating like morning dew in the sun. House sighed and said,

"Damn kid. She had better not make a habit of pooping on my party. Of course, I should probably thank her for a wonderful night." Cuddy laughed, and as she turned her head, caught a glimpse of the clock. Her lively laugh disappearing, replaced by a look of horror. House said,

"What?" His gaze followed her hers and he saw the red digits showing the time 9:37. He grinned and said, "Is mommy late for work?" Cuddy ignored him, and went to the edge of the bed, gathering up her clothes. As she ran down the hallway, she realized she was missing something very important, and she had a feeling she knew where it was. She walked back to the bedroom, all playfulness gone from her walk. She stood in what she hoped showed authority. House grinned as he dangled the sexy red bra by the strap, his eyes laughing at her. Cuddy blushed and held out her hand, saying,

"Give. It. Now." House ignored her and said,

"You're so cute when you try arguing naked. It's very hard to reply when you are looking so perky this morning. Cuddy went a deeper shade of red; she knew he was right about her perkiness. House looked at the tag and read aloud, "'36C'. I'll have to remember that." Cuddy shook her hand out at him and said,

"Give it here. NOW!" House replied with a devilish glint in his eyes,

"Only if you let me tell the whole hospital about what happened." Cuddy said incredulously,

"No! Give it now, damn it House!" He pretended to think about it for a second, and then shook his head and said defiantly,

"No." Cuddy gave up and said,

"No, you can't tell the hospital. That's final." Cuddy went to the bathroom to shower and change.

OoOoOoOoOoOoOoO oOoOoOoOoOoOoOo OoOoOoOoOo

When Cuddy came out, she found House in the kitchen, wearing boxers and a white t-shirt, and eating Oreos. Cuddy said,

"What are you doing?" House looked up at her, and choked on his mouthful of cookies. He stared at her breasts. As far as he was concerned, this was one of the best views. It had been a low-cut shirt to begin with. He replied,

"I'm eating breakfast. My, are we going into a new profession?" Cuddy blushed and said,

"I'm going home to get properly dressed. You need to go to the hospital and make sure Jade is OK." With that, she headed for the door. Just as she grabbed the handle, her cellphone started ringing. She yanked it out of her purse, and seeing it was Jade, she ripped it open and said,

"Jade? Jade? Is that you, sweetie?" She heard her daughter say sarcastically,

"No, this is the pizza man, and he wants you to drop by his home in as little clothes as possible. Yes, it's me. Just wanted to let you know that I'm at Wilson's. He's going to bring me in today, and I will watch him work. I figured you weren't coming for me right around midnight." Cuddy could hear her daughter holding back her laughter. Cuddy said in a tone full of authority,

"Jade, you had no right to do this." Jade laughed and said,

"Oh c'mon, it can't have been _that_ bad. I mean, for heaven's sake, you slept with him! Now tell me in all honesty you didn't enjoy the evening." Cuddy said nothing for a while, and Jade said, "That's what I thought." Cuddy smiled and rolled her eyes, saying,

"Put your partner in crime on the phone." Jade shouted away from the phone,

"Partner in crime, get your ass in here! The poor victim wants to give you a verbal thrashing while simultaneously having sex with your best friend!" Cuddy heard Wilson shout back,

"Be right there!" Cuddy heard him walk in and he took the phone, saying,

"Yes, my poor victim?" Cuddy smiled and said,

"As soon as I get to work you're deader than a dead thing on dead tablets in Deadville drinking dead juice on Dead Road." Wilson laughed and said,

"You missed your early appointments. I cancelled everything else you have planned for today, and told House's team that he won't be in today. They don't know why. You two _are_ going to talk." He hung up. Cuddy pulled the phone away from her ear and looked at it, confused and surprised. Wilson wasn't ever this forceful or aggressive. She suspected Jade had something to do with it. Cuddy flipped her phone shut and turned to House, saying,

"Wilson and Jade are forcing us to talk. We can't go to work." House smiled mischievously and said,

"We're talking right now. We've talked to each other. You are free to go." Cuddy smiled to herself. House's rule-breaking habits weren't always bad. Cuddy went to turn the handles, and discovered it to be locked. She didn't remember any locks on the door the previous night. _But then again,_ she thought, blushing, _I didn't notice much other than his lips on mine and his hands on me and my hands on him. _She tried the handle again, but it didn't budge. There was no lock on the inside. She sighed, frustrated. Wilson and Jade must have put locks on the door the previous night while she and House made love. Cuddy walked back to the kitchen and told House,

"It appears our daughter and Wilson has locked us in." House sighed exasperatedly and said,

"For being such a genius, you really do have a habit of missing the obvious." He limped over to the window, and found it nailed shut. He sighed, and tried to pick up a chair to throw through it. The second the heavy solid-oak chair was off the floor, a lightning bolt of pain shot through his leg like someone was slicing his leg from the inside out. He grimaced, and put the chair back. He sat down on it, and popped 2 Vicodin. Cuddy sighed, and plopped down onto the chair across from him. She said,

"Look, we've been playing this juvenile struggle for power for the last over 20 years. We either need to talk it out, or I will fire you. You know I can." House was taken aback by this. He weighed his options: Option A- Keep emotions hidden; no more sex; Cuddy fires my ass; I need new job. Option B- I confess feelings; we have rough and nasty sex; I keep job. The choice was rather obvious to him. He said with that familiar twinkle in his eyes,

"Fine. I love your body and soul." Cuddy smiled; she knew it would never be that easy. She smiled, and looked up at House through her long eyelashes, saying,

"You know, this is so much easier when you are having vigorous and breath-taking sex." She grinned, and raced House to the bedroom.

2 HOURS LATER…

Cuddy and House lay breathless next to each other, both naked and bruised under the sheets. Both were breathing heavily. House said between breaths,

"I love," breath, "you." Cuddy turned on her side and said to him,

"Seriously?"

"Seriously." Cuddy thought for a bit, then snuggled in close to him. She said into his side,

"You have no idea how long I've wanted you to say that. I love you too." And the passionate sex recommenced.


	8. The Aftermath

_(A/N: Sorry I didn't warn you on the last one that it was a little nastier. This one really isn't much better, but no you have been warned. All is fair in love, war, and fanfiction. Love to you all!)_

The constant sex continued until both could hear the other's stomach growling rather audibly. House smiled and said,

"Sex makes you hungry." Cuddy smiled, and got up, only slightly caring she was completely naked in House's apartment. He silently appraised her body, thinking how it had shivered under his touch that night at the restaurant. Was it just the previous night? He got up, and followed her to the kitchen. Cuddy was already nibbling at the long-forgotten Oreos, smiling at House. He smiled back (but while she smiled to his face, he smiled to her breasts), and got out the milk. They sat at the table, eating their nutritional Oreos and admiring the other's face. At a quarter to 2, they silently agreed it was time to get dressed. Cuddy borrowed one of House's black t-shirts, and a pair of blue jean cut-offs. House threw on his famous white t-shirt and boxers. They went to the living room, and settled on opposite ends of the couch. They sat there for a few minutes, completely silent. Suddenly, House got up and limped over to the piano. He sat down, and started playing a melody Cuddy had never heard before, and yet it was somehow familiar. She sat there, completely lost in the wonderful music. Slowly, she fell asleep.

House continued playing his song thinking about the night he had made it. The night had composed his first song for Cuddy.

_ It was the night she had lost Joy. After she had kissed him, he went back to his lonely apartment. He had sat down on the couch. In the same spot Cuddy now slept, in fact. He had sat there for an indeterminable time. It could have been a few minutes. It could have been a few days. He had risen and crossed over to his baby grand piano. He had played a random tune he had never heard, but it still felt right as his fingers continued the piano, coaxing out a lovely tune. House had realized that this was the song he had wanted to play all those times he had sat down at the same piano and pondered what tune to play reflecting his hidden emotions. He played the song over and over until it was engraved on the wall of stone in his mind and the light had started to filter through the closed blinds. He realized that for it to be a true composition, it had to have a name. After much thought, he decided to call it 'Joy's Memorial'._

House shook himself from the bittersweet memory and returned to the present. He turned to smile at Cuddy, and found her sleeping peacefully. He continued playing while studying her face. The sweet little smile that played across her lips made him smile himself. Her long brown hair hung limply and elegantly across her face. House stopped playing and saw Cuddy shift slightly in her sleep. He rose and limped over to her. Hesitantly and carefully, he curled up next to her. He inhaled the sweet scent of ocean breeze on her hair, and exhaled deeply into her brunette locks. He closed his eyes, and was hit by the epiphany of the decade: this was why he had stuck around her hospital. He hadn't stayed for the paycheck, her body, or the clinic hours. He had stayed for her. All of her had been the string that had kept him from floating off into the ocean of the dismal world. Her lifestyle, her eyes, her playfulness in their struggle for power was the thing that had composed _her, _that had kept him by her side. He knew that no matter how often she bounced away from him, he knew that he would always be there for her. He would try to be the one constant in her life. The shoulder she could and did cry on when there was a miscarriage, when the adoption fell through. He would be there for her. Forever.

Cuddy was running along the halls of Princeton-Plainsboro Teaching Hospital. It looked the same as it would if it was a typical workday, but there was one important element missing: there weren't any people but her. No one walked the halls. No nurse's at the nurse's station. Not a single living soul in sight. Cuddy tried to remember why she was running, but she couldn't think of the reason. She continued running. Suddenly, Jade screamed. The scream seemed to come from nowhere and everywhere at the same time. Cuddy tried to call out that she was coming, but her vocal chords failed her. She rounded a corner, and found House looking at her. From the cold linoleum. His eyes were glassy, and there was blood coming from under his fingernails, and gushed from his eyes and nose. A slow trickle came out of his mouth. He was dead. Cuddy fell to her knees and shouted,

"**NO! HOUSE! SOMEONE HELP** **ME!**" Jade screamed again, but it fell on deaf ears. Cuddy took House's head and cradled it in her lap. She started weeping, and her tears mixed with his warm blood. Wilson suddenly appeared over her shoulder and said calmly,

"He was trying to get to you. He just couldn't move fast enough. Pity." Cuddy was too upset to notice the bloody knife in Wilson's hand. Wilson walked on into the room on her left. Jade screamed again. Cuddy, still crying, got up and rushed to find the source of the scream. Cuddy turned another corner. There was House again. Dead. Another corner. Another dead House. Cuddy sank to the floor, crying out all her despair and frustration.

After a few minutes of desperate crying, she heard Jade scream in the room on her immediate left. She dashed into the room just in time to see a bullet enter Jade's left arm. Cuddy turned to see the shooter, and found it to be the one person she would never have expected.

Wilson held the bloody knife in one hand, and a smoking gun in the other. He turned to Cuddy, and she saw the whites of his eyes had gone a horrific red. He said calmly, but with underlying menace,

"You chose him over me. You're going to regret it, darling." He turned back to the screaming and bloody Jade, and took careful aim at her other arm. A cruel smile twisted its way onto his face. Just as he pulled the trigger, Cuddy shoved against the gun, and managed to put it off course. Instead of plowing into Jade's arm, it embedded itself in her heart. Cuddy's screams replaced Jade's as her daughter's head slumped to the side, a blossom of red making itself known on her chest.

Wilson took advantage of Cuddy's distressed state, and tied her wrists to the bed. He started pulling off Cuddy's clothes. Cuddy fought against him, but he was exhibiting a strength she didn't know he possessed. Once she was completely naked, he took off his own pants and boxers. He then raped Cuddy. Again and again the bastard forced himself into her. When he was finally satisfied, he pulled back and said calmly,

"This is how it is supposed to be. You now will have my child."

"**NO!**" Cuddy shouted as she shot up on House's couch. House awoke at her distressed cry. He saw in her eyes and actions a wild panic and raw fear, like that you would see in a hunted animal. She twisted her head about, looking fearfully around her. Her hair was whipping House in the face. He realized she had just had the worst nightmare he had ever heard of, and he didn't even know what it was. When she saw House beside her, she burst into tears and threw her arms around his neck. She sobbed real tears into his shirt. He awkwardly wrapped his arms around her, and quietly whispered to her,

"." Cuddy continued her sobbing. Not knowing what else he could do, he hesitantly patted her head. He unclasped her hands from their chokehold on his neck, and turned her around so her back was against chest. He then swayed from side to side, all the while repeating, "Shushshshshshshshshshshsh." As Cuddy cried herself out.

When she finally had wrung all of the tears out of her and was reduced to gasping, House whispered in her ear,

"It was only a nightmare. Only a nightmare. Can you tell me about it?" He felt Cuddy nod beneath his chin. She told him the whole thing. When she got to the part about Wilson raping her, she felt him tense, and she knew he was angry at his friend for intruding upon her dream. She stopped talking. He relaxed slightly, and said, "Go on."

When Cuddy finished, House pulled her in tight to him and said gently,

"That isn't going to happen. You hear me? It won't happen." Cuddy hiccupped and whispered,

"Yes."

While House and Cuddy cuddled, Wilson and Jade sat in Wilson's office, debating whether House and Cuddy had actually talked it out, broken a window and escaped, or had rough and nasty sex. Wilson said,

"I'll bet they broke a window and escaped. That means Cuddy is on her way here to kick my ass to Kingdom Come. And House is on his way here to tell me lies about Cuddy in bed." Jade argued,

"I'll bet you $10 they're having hot and nasty sex. Why do you think I had to stay the night at your place?" Wilson countered,

"They've already had sex, why would Cuddy let House do that to her again?" Jade said,

"You think they escaped, I think they are still there, and have had lots of sex. Do we have a bet of $10?" Wilson grinned and shook her hand. Both said,

"Deal." Jade pulled out her cell phone, and put it on speaker. She then dialed her father's home number. She set the phone on the desk and told Wilson,

"Don't say a word if you want to know anything." Just then, someone picked up the phone. Jade heard her father's gruff voice say,

"Piss off." Jade replied brightly,

"Good afternoon to you too, grumpy." House replied,

"Jade! I hate you." Jade ignored him and said,

"Put Mom on." Cuddy said,

"Hello?" Jade said,

"Hey mom, just wondering what you guys were doing."

"We were just sitting on the couch." Jade and Wilson looked at each other, surprised. Jade said,

"How many times did you have sex?"

"Jade! What a thing to ask! That is absolutely none of your business!" Jade said smugly,

"I should know when my parents are getting bruises from each other and not from upset patients at the hospital." Cuddy sighed and said,

"9 times." Jade smirked at Wilson, who was gawking at the phone. Jade said,

"Did you follow Wilson's advice and talk it out?"

"Yes, your methods were very persuasive." Jade laughed and said,

"Okay, do you want out yet? Or is there more 'Daddy's Dick' scheduled on the menu?" Cuddy ignored the last question and said,

"No, I'm still good. Come back around 7. That should give us about 2 hours to get dressed and eat." Jade said,

"Okay, 7 o'clock it is. By the way, we nailed up your house as well, but Wilson lost the key." She laughed, and Cuddy unceremoniously hung up on her. Jade and Wilson slapped high-fives, and Wilson dragged out his wallet to make good on his bet. Jade glanced at the key to her mother's house, and smiled. She grabbed it and ran out of the office, quickly followed by Wilson, who had the same idea.

Back in House's apartment, Cuddy sighed and turned to House, saying,

"I might have to stay over again. Wilson lost the only key to my house." House's eyes widened, and said,

"Jimmy never told me had a key to your house." Cuddy laughed and said,

"No, they locked up my house, and Wilson can't find the key." Cuddy smiled as she saw House relax. He said suggestively,

"Renters have to pay for room and board." Cuddy grinned and said seductively,

"Well, I left most of my money at my house. All I have left is the clothes—oh wait, I don't have all of those either. All I have is the skin on my back. Will that work?" House grinned, and they walked quickly to the bedroom.

When Jade came in that night at 6:30, she found the apartment to be completely silent. She stealthily crept through the rooms, searching for them. Soon, all that was let was the bedroom. Jade knew this could turn out to scar her for life. She turned on her phone, and went straight to the camera option. She mentally cued suspenseful music, and silently slipped through the cracked door.


	9. The Aftermath of the Aftermath

Jade saw her parents were curled up together, House's chest pressed up against Cuddy's back. They looked so sweet and serene. Jade saw that both her father's and her mother's shoulders were barren, and guessed correctly that the sheet were the only thing that kept her from being scarred for life. Much to Jade's surprise; they both seemed to be asleep. She had expected to see some disgustingly intimate sex. Still, she was happy to miss the main show. Jade pulled out her phone, and got a few pictures for Wilson. She quickly, silently, sent copies of them to her e-mail address so her parents couldn't delete them.

Just as she turned to leave, she saw her father's blue eyes shoot open, and fix her with a glare-of-death. Jade desperately tried to keep from laughing. Jade quickly slipped back out through the door, and rushed to the door. She hailed a cab, and told the driver to step on it to get to PPTH.

As soon as Jade arrived and paid the driver, she sprinted straight to Wilson's office. She burst through the door, and found him sleeping in his chair. Jade caught her breath, and quietly sank into the chair across from Wilson. She grabbed a big dictionary off his desk, and slammed it down loudly. Wilson woke up with a start and shouted,

"House! What the h" He cut off when he saw Jade sitting smugly across from him. She said nothing, but showed him the pictures on her phone. Wilson's eyes widened and his jaw dropped to the floor. He grabbed the phone and flicked through the pictures. He said in a disbelieving voice,

"There has to be a catch. You don't get these pictures and then get away with it." Jade grinned and said,

"There is the small fact that House caught me, but he didn't see the pictures." Wilson looked at her in horror. He said,

"You are so dead. He will beat you to death with his cane." Jade's grin disappeared and she said,

"You aren't supposed to say that! You're supposed to say that he won't kill me! Oh shit, I AM dead!" Wilson held up his hands and said,

"Just a minute. Cuddy won't let him kill her daughter." Jade countered,

"She might help him when she sees these pictures."

"True." Jade sighed and said,

"You're hopeless. I'll have to delete the pictures." Wilson sighed too, and nodded. Jade conveniently left out that she had copies.

The next day when Cuddy and House arrived at work, they came in the same car, and were wearing the same clothes they had 2 days ago. When they walked in together and House grabbed Cuddy's ass, she only giggled and playfully pushed his hand away. The nurses walking past gawked at them as they walked waist-in-arm to the elevator. Once in and the doors closed, they went into a passionate and intense make-out session. When the doors opened in the middle of the session, a surprised and embarrassed Wilson entered the elevator. House and Cuddy quickly disentangled themselves, and Wilson almost died laughing. Cuddy's face was red, and House seemed extremely interested in his shoes. The ride seemed to take forever. When they reached Cuddy's floor, she left without looking back, but House and Wilson both knew she was still red. As soon as the doors shut again, Wilson turned to House and asked,

"What the hell was that?" House deflected by saying,

"There you go again, starting with 'what the hell'. Are those the only words you know?" Wilson recognized his friend's tactic, and smiled, saying,

"You really should tell her about your love for her. She already knows deep down that you love her. I should know. This is hush-hush, but Jade and I broke into her place." If House had been eating, he would have choked at that. Wilson was playing Cupid pretty good, but break-and-enter just wasn't his style. House still smiled evilly. The two men got out on the floor. When they got to House's office, he turned to Wilson and said,

"I'll tell you this about sleeping with Cuddy: she makes real good orgasms." House went into his office, leaving Wilson alone out in the hall. He walked over to his office and went in saying,

"Jade, we're right! They" He shut up when he saw not Jade but Cuddy in his office. She had her hands on her hips and a threatening glint in her eyes. He could tell she was most definitely furious. She said slowly, infuriated,

"When I say someone is dead, I mean they are dead. Even you, James. Before I kill you, tell me this: Did you find the key to my house?" Wilson nodded quickly and said,

"Yes, we f-found it. We went in t-too." Cuddy said menacingly,

"Who's 'we'?" Wilson nearly peed himself,

"Jade and I." Cuddy walked up to him and pointed a threatening finger at his throat. He gulped and she said,

"Know this: If news of this gets out, I will know exactly where to find the source. Jade will be punished anyway. If you spread this, I will fire you and hire an assassin. Am I in any way not clear?" Not bothering to wait for an answer, she turned and left through the open door behind Wilson. Behind her she left a wake of anger and danger. Wilson walked dazedly to his desk, and slowly dialed Jade's number. The phone rang once, and she picked up. Wilson immediately said,

"Jade, come to my office quickly, and avoid Cuddy if at all possible." He hung up.

2 minutes later, Jade was standing breathless in front of his desk. He said,

"Jade, Cuddy knows everything. She knows we set them up, and she was inexplicably angry with me. She knows we went into her home." Jade looked at him horrified, and raced out of his office, trying to find her mother.

When Jade found her mother, she was walking around the hospital, asking people if they had seen Jade. The girl in question walked quickly up to her mother and grabbed her shoulder. Cuddy whirled around and hissed venomously,

"Where have you been?" Jade said seriously,

"Calm down before you have a heart attack. Someone in your state shouldn't be getting this worked up." Cuddy ignored her and said,

"Let's go to my office to discuss this." She held onto Jade's shoulder in a vice-like grip and marched her straight to Cuddy's office. When they got inside, Cuddy shut the door and said,

"What do you mean, 'someone in my state'?" Jade looked at her in disbelief. She stated what she thought to be obvious,

"Haven't you even considered you might be pregnant?" Cuddy was stunned. This thought had never occurred to her. Cuddy smiled warmly. Jade knew she was out of trouble, for now. She decided to push her luck a bit farther, "Don't you see? I could have given you another child! You ought to be thanking me!" Cuddy thought for a bit, and Jade found herself sweating, desperately hoping she wasn't dead. Cuddy smiled at Jade and said,

"You definitely have a way with people. By that I mean you're just as manipulative as your father." Jade grinned proudly and said,

"C'mon, let's here it." Cuddy sighed in frustration but good-naturedly. She said sarcastically, smiling,

"Thank you Jade for setting up your father and I behind our backs. I owe all my happiness to you." Jade smiled and said,

"And don't you forget it." They hugged, and Jade sat down to watch her mother work.


	10. The Donors Banquet

Cuddy poked her head into House's office and said,

"By the way, I'm holding a Donors' Banquet this weekend. You are supposed to come." She was gone before House had a chance to protest. He sighed to himself, and thought. If he went, there was a small but still there chance that he would get into Cuddy's pants. If he didn't go, she might let Wilson in. That was the last thing that House wanted. He buzzed Cuddy's office. Jade picked up, saying,

"Dr. Cuddy, Dean of Medicine." House smiled that his daughter as well as him was trying to make Cuddy's life a little bit more confusing. He said,

"Yes, Jade, can you tell your mother that she needs a new receptionist? I think there might be something in child services about making your daughter your unpaid receptionist." Jade laughed and said,

"Fine, Limpy. What do you want, other than a few hookers and to get into my mother's pants?" House replied,

"Tell your mother that I will go to the Donors' Banquet, since she asked me so kindly and made so many promises that I will hold her to." Jade laughed and said she would tell Cuddy. She also said,

"Oh, so now you two get to go to prom together? Ahh, that's so sweet." House promptly hung up on her.

THAT WEEKEND…

Cuddy, House, Jade, and Wilson all were at a Donors' Banquet. Everyone had just finished eating, and the band was striking up a pleasant dance tune. Wilson was over chatting with Cameron; Cuddy was talking to a donor who insisted on constantly flirting with her, despite the fact he was a good 10 years older than her. Jade and House were over at the punch table. Jade was watching all the couples dancing, thinking how someday, hopefully, she would be out there herself with a man that loved her. House was watching Cuddy and debating whether to save her from the conversation with the older donor or continue watching her dance her way around the talking while not encouraging the slobbering old fool. Jade noticed that her father was watching her mother, and she had to stop herself from laughing at the enjoyment that secretly shone out of his eyes. She looked over at her mother and said to her father,

"So, when are you going to ask her to dance?" House looked down at Jade, back at Cuddy, and said truthfully,

"Roughly right after she is forced into one dance with that ball-less bastard over there." Jade nodded and said evilly,

"You do realize that if she dances with him, he won't let her go for the rest of the evening, thus ruining your chance to play the secretly softy doctor that can be a romantic sucker when he wants to." House was once again amazed at his daughter's powers of deduction and correct deductions. He sighed, and shot Jade at dirty look, which she replied to with an evil smile. House downed another cup of the spiked punch, and made his way over to Cuddy. She was just saying,

"Oh yes, I do love the color pink and all dogs small and white furry." _Just as much as I love menstrual cramps, crabby patients, and you,_ She thought. House came over and said in his most courteous manner,

"Excuse me, Doctor Cuddy. Would you do me the honor of a dance?" Cuddy seemed taken aback by his kind manner, but recovered quickly, saying,

"Yes, please, sir." House took her hand, and pulled her out onto the dance floor. One of the musicians who were a former patient of Doctor House broke the band off in the middle of the previous dance, and got them to slowly change from a faster paced tango to a much slower and more romantic waltz. Cuddy didn't notice the change in her relief to be free of the boring conversation, but House noticed the change, and silently thanked the musician. He pulled Cuddy close to him, feeling her soft warmth through her dress and his shirt. She whispered in his ear,

"Um… House?" He said nothing, but Cuddy could tell that he was listening. She continued,

"Thank you. For saving me from that man's horrid conversation." House was silent for a second, and Cuddy was afraid that she had overstepped some unspoken pact they had made to never say please and thank-you, or do anything else remotely nice. House whispered quietly to her,

"You're welcome." Cuddy could tell that this was as far as words would get them. She rested her head on House's shoulder as they slowly swayed to the music. There are no written steps to the song of love. House let Cuddy rest on him, and he held her close to him with more force than Cuddy usually would have permitted with any other man. House, however, was no other man to her. He was the man her heart had danced for since forever. He was the one she would across burning coals for.

Wilson noticed that his two best friends were out dancing, and his jaw nearly dropped. He pointed this out to Cameron, who smiled happily. Her engagement to Chase had made her even more susceptible to happiness. Wilson excused himself, and went over to speak to Jade, who was still over by the punch table. It seemed that that was to become her popular hang-out for the night. Wilson said to Jade,

"How'd you do it?" Jade replied without taking her eyes off her parents,

"I told him that if she danced with anyone else, others would approach her, and he wouldn't be able to play her knight in shining armor, thus ruining his chances of getting any tonight." Wilson had to admire the way Jade knew so much of the adult world. Just then, a boy about 17 or 18 came over to Jade and said,

"Umm… er… would you… you know… like to dance?" Jade was taken aback by his offer. She turned red and said quietly,

"Yes?" The boy seemed to get his confidence back. He surreptitiously wiped his sweaty palms on his pants and held out his hand. Jade took it, and with a last glance at a curious and confused Wilson, she was led out to the dance floor.

Cuddy looked over House's shoulder, and saw her daughter dancing with a black-haired boy taller than her, and who had deep brown eyes. She smiled, but said nothing, wanting her daughter to have one dance that her father didn't publicly humiliate her at.

Jade slowly danced with Eric, the boy who had asked her to dance. He was taller then her, and surprisingly a good dancer. At the end of that song, she was approached by another boy, who asked her to dance. She graciously accepted, and this time danced a tango. Jade was surprised that all these boys were suddenly coming up to her. Try as she did, she couldn't rationalize their motives other than wanting some of her. The next time she was asked by Eric, she said no. He was confused, and asked,

"Why won't you dance with me now?" Jade didn't want to tell him the truth, but she couldn't bring herself to lie. She said coldly,

"All any of the boys here want is to get some entertainment tonight. I have no intention of providing it." Eric laughed, and said,

"I don't know about the other two boys you danced with, but I have no intention of trying to seduce you or anything else like that. I just want to know the beautiful girl that is always just hanging around." Jade was surprised that anyone would want to just _hang out_ wit her. She didn't think of herself as particularly beautiful nor athletic or attractive in any sense of the word. Jade struck herself as the official geek of the grade, if not the school. She was just the weirdo pessimist geek that was always around to remove all emotion from any issue. She smiled shyly at Eric and said quietly,

"My name is Jade by the way. Jade Cuddy House." His eyes widened and he asked,

"Are you by any chance related to the great Doctor Gregory House?" Jade nodded. Eric's eyes got even wider and he said,

"Honestly?" Jade nodded again and said,

"I'm his daughter." She thought that if Eric's eyes got any wider, they would pop out of his head. He said,

"Do you think that I could possibly meet him? He's my idol." Jade was surprised that anyone outside of her could possibly idolize her father. She looked out into the crowd and when she saw her father dancing, she smiled and said to Eric,

"Maybe later. It appears that he is dancing with Dr. Cuddy. Perhaps you have heard of her?" Eric smiled and said,

"Everyone in the fan club never shuts up about her! Especially how they still love each other even though they pretend not to love each other." Jade smiled and said,

"Then this should blow your mind: I'm their daughter. Cuddy is my mom, and House is my dad." Eric turned pale, and had to sit down in the chair beside him. Jade smiled and laughed. He said to her in a shaky voice,

"It's a pleasure to make your acquaintance, miss Jade Cuddy House. Could I possibly inquire as to a few facts on your parents' relationship?" Jade laughed again and said,

"Cut the fancy talk, o silly one. To tell you the truth, I'm not supposed to tell you the truth. At least, I'm not going to." She smiled at his infuriation and at the way he was desperately trying to crack through her defenses. She made herself into a tantalizing enigma. Eric tried to unravel her, but at each attempt he made to pull her apart, she coiled herself tighter around her solution. She didn't bother to stop herself at laughing at Eric. Finally, he threw his hands up and said,

"Fine! I give up! Will you please tell me about your life at home?" Jade smiled and said simply,

"House slept with Cuddy a month ago." Eric came within inches of passing out. Jade had to laugh at his expression. She got up, and went back over to Wilson. He looked at her suspiciously, waiting for her to tell him what she had been laughing at over there. As he felt was his duty, he had kept a very close eye on her as she danced and talked with Eric. He eventually sighed and said,

"Tell me about what happened." Jade sighed and said,

"Long story short, the first guy I danced with is Dad's biggest fan. Did you know that he actually has a fan club? Anyway, I told him my heritage, and he flipped out. He spent half a freaking hour trying to get me to tell him about their love life. When he finally gave up, I simply told him they slept together a month ago. He almost passed out." Jade and Wilson laughed. Jade told him,

"You absolutely cannot tell either mom or dad that I told Eric that they slept together. Especially not Dad. He'll kill him for knowing he slept with Cuddy, and he will be under the impression that I am Eric's girlfriend." Wilson looked at her teasingly and said,

"Aren't you?" Jade promptly punched him in the arm, rather hard. She walked back over to Eric, who was frantically writing things in his notebook. She said,

"Anything else you want to know?" He said without looking up,

"Piss off." Jade was taken aback again, but knew that he wasn't kidding. Jade quickly figured out why he was being so nasty. She knew that somehow he had picked up on the fact that she was related to House, and he had used her. Now that he had his story, he didn't need her. Jade said in a very powerful, steady voice,

"You goddamn jackass. To Hell with your stupid story." She grabbed his notebook, ripped it in two, halved it 3 more times, and threw the remnants at him. She sped out of the room, weaving in and out of the dancing couples. Wilson saw her almost run out, and quickly followed her. House and Cuddy were at House's home, having sex, so they didn't notice Jade's pain.

Jade was out on the steps to the hall when Wilson found her. Her make-up was smeared terribly, and she was crying hard. Wilson, not knowing what to do with a miserable teenage hormonal girl, sat next to her, and patted her back. When she turned to him and cried into his shoulder, he didn't pull away, sensing that this was what Jade needed. She sat there and cried for a few minutes, until Wilson asked her,

"What happened?" Slowly, Jade explained what had happened. Wilson didn't know what to do. He desperately wanted to fix things, but he knew that a woman's heart was one of the things men should never try to understand or heal in some cases.

Just then, Eric came out of the door. He walked over to Jade, and started shouting,

"You moody bitch, you ruined my notes! I'm going to-" He didn't get a chance to finish, considering Wilson got up and socked him one right in the chops. Jade had to laugh. Eric stumbled backwards, and went running into the building. Jade was laughing rather maniacally, and Wilson could tell that she was hysterical over how much time she had spent crying. Wilson shook his hand and said,

"Ouch. That hurt." Jade said between gasps,

"No shit, Sherlock." Wilson smiled and said,

'I didn't think it hurt that bad in the movies." Jade smiled, and the sat back down on the pavement. There was silence between them, each smiling at each other. They weren't exactly like uncle and niece, they were closer than that. But neither were they—thankfully—lovers. Just, more like a close brother and sister.

The next day, Wilson had to explain to everyone that he had fallen and bruised his fist on the sidewalk. House laughed, and Cuddy asked if he was OK.

He gave them both Hell for leaving early. Cuddy had missed one of the main speeches, but didn't regret leaving.


	11. One Month And Change Later

_**(A/N: I'm SOOOOOOOOOO sorry that I haven't updated in forever. I did fully intend to post the rest of this about 2 months ago. Life got in the way. And I will admit that I forgot more than one or ten times. Please forgive me and still review. Please?)**_

Cuddy walked into the convenience store and went straight to the pharmacy section. She glowed with happiness and anticipation as she purchased five pregnancy tests. The pregnant teenage clerk said sympathetically,

"Knocked up, huh?" Cuddy shrugged and smiled brilliantly. The clerk huffed and said,

"Damn boyfriend ran out on me when I told him. How 'bout you?" Cuddy said sympathetically,

"I'm sorry about your boyfriend. I've been trying for years. Actually had a darling little girl in med school, but stupidly gave her up. Thankfully, I got her back. Excuse me; I have to go see if I'm knocked up." Cuddy glided over to the restrooms, and entered the women's stall. She locked the door, and opened the first kit. She read the instructions:

Remove the protective covering from the strip

Place pink end under urine stream

Wait 3 minutes

+ means pregnant

- means not pregnant

Cuddy followed the first to steps, and then set the strip aside as she did the same to the rest of the strips. She waited 5 minutes to be sure they were all done, and then checked them all with apprehension and fear bubbling in her stomach. On the first, she found the dreaded minus sign. She checked the next four. All of them showed a + sign. Cuddy smiled, and her eyes watered up with tears of happiness. She collected all of her tests, and put them in the Ziploc bag she had brought along, put the bag in her purse. She washed her hands, and emerged from the bathroom. She went to the clerk who held a questioning look in her eyes. Cuddy said simply,

"Where are the prenatal vitamins?" The clerk hugged her and said,

"Congratulations! The vitamins are over here, come on. I'll show you." The woman left her till, and showed Cuddy where the vitamins were. They spent 15 minutes discussing what brand was best, and what kind was best suited for Cuddy. As Cuddy bought her vitamins, the clerk said,

"By the way, my name is Shelley Martan."

"Lisa Cuddy." They shook hands, exchanged numbers, and arranged to meet for lunch the following Wednesday at PPTH. Cuddy left the store happier than she had been in 16 years.

When Cuddy returned home, she found her house to be empty. She shouted Jade's name, but there was no answer. Then, she saw the note left by the kidnapper on the kitchen table. It read:

Cuddy-

If you want to see your darling daughter again, you'll go to the theater and wait patiently for our movie to get done. See you around 5:30.

Sincerely,

James Wilson and Jade

Cuddy smiled with relief. Wilson sure did know how to scare her, but she was happy he had taken Jade to the movies. She felt guilty about constantly working all the time, when all Jade could do was sit around and watch. It wasn't healthy for a teenage girl in the peak of summer. Cuddy folded her hands across her abdomen, thinking about the small life it contained. She desperately wanted this child. Cuddy walked over to the couch, and plopped down onto it. She let her eyes close as she thought.

She thought about how there was a good chance she would lose this child. As much as she wanted to deny it, the fact still stood that she had failed in the few pregnancies she had had. With this melancholy thought in mind, she drifted off to the welcoming arms of slumber, and her dreams of babies.

When Jade and Wilson let themselves quietly into the house, they found Cuddy fast asleep on the couch. She was breathing deeply, and she smiled in her sleep. Jade turned to Wilson, and put a finger to her lips. Wilson nodded, and quietly strode over to take his place at Jade's side. Jade cast a surreptitious glance at Wilson, and was slightly surprised to see a look that caring and loving on his face, considering Cuddy had chosen House over him. She sighed, and made a shooing gesture at him. He smiled, and left quietly. Jade went to her bedroom, and got out a book. She settled into an armchair close by her mother, and curled up, preparing for a few luxurious hours of reading.

Around 11 pm, about 4 hours after Jade had come home Cuddy awoke to the soft light of a lamp. Cuddy's eyes flicked over to her daughter, and Cuddy smiled. Her daughter's eyes were flying across the pages, and her fingers quietly turned the pages. Cuddy watched for a few more minutes, until Jade looked up and found her mother's lovely eyes trained intently on her. Jade smiled, and put her book down. She moved onto the floor by the couch. She smiled and said gently,

"Good evening, mother. I love you." Somehow, Jade knew this was exactly what Cuddy wanted to hear. Cuddy smiled back, and said,

"Jade, there's something I need to tell you." Jade nodded encouragingly. Cuddy took a deep breath and said, "To put it in the bluntest of terms, I'm pregnant." Jade's eyes widened, but she quickly recovered and said,

"Congrats! How far along are you?" Cuddy said happily,

"I'd guess about 3 months." Jade smiled and said,

"So that means you should start to show any day now?" Cuddy nodded. She said quickly,

"Jade, you absolutely cannot tell House. He'll figure out I'm pregnant, but you can't tell him he's the father. If he asks, ignore him. He won't punish you. I mean it Jade. You can't tell him." Jade nodded seriously. She didn't bother asking why. She knew everything would reveal itself in due course. She asked,

"Can I tell Wilson if I make him promise?" Cuddy sighed and nodded. She said,

"And please thank him for me. You two are the reason I'm pregnant, even if it is House's fault." Jade nodded, and hugged her mother.

Jade walked into House's office the next day and found him bouncing his red ball against the wall. Jade sat unacknowledged in a chair and simply watched him, thinking. She was suddenly hit by a realization. She voiced it to her father,

"I've lived here over 4 months, and I still haven't seen your home. I think I will stay over tonight. If you haven't already arranged for a hooker's company, that is." House still didn't look at her, but he said,

"No hooker, so I guess you'll have to go to your mother's house. I already had this night set aside for my Strip-house-and-get-drunk night." Jade's pleasing tone suddenly had taken on an underlying tone of menace. She said threateningly,

"I think I will stay the night at your home." Her tone left no room for negotiations. House grimaced and said with an exasperated sigh,

"Whatever. But don't expect to watch any TV that isn't porn or soap operas." Jade grinned and said,

"I do read, unlike some people I know. Anyway, shouldn't you be doing clinic duty?" House turned to her and nodded. He said dryly,

"And what are you going to do about it?" Jade grinned and said,

"You say repeatedly that everybody lies. Would you like to indulge yourself in a _game _of lying? We could get Wilson down there to play with us, because it isn't much fun with just 2 people." House sighed and said,

"You are right. Jimmy boy and I haven't had any private bets for quite a while. What's the game called?" Jade grinned and said,

"It's adequately named 'Bullshit', but we should probably say BS and say it means 'Baloney Sandwich', in case Mommy catches us." House grinned and said,

"What illegal paraphernalia do we need to play this game of lying, o great and wise liar?"

"A deck of cards." This caught House by surprise. He didn't know the last time he had used real cards, other than playing poker with Wilson. House reached into his desk, and pulled out a deck of cards. Of course, the cover of them was a lady pole dancing. She was, thankfully, clothed. Somewhat, at least. House picked up his office phone, pressed the button for Wilson's office. The phone rang once, and then Wonder Boy oncologist picked up. He said,

"Oncology, this is Dr. Wilson speaking." House said happily,

"Jimmy! How nice of you to call me! I was hoping you didn't have anything better to do for the next 3 hours other than bet. I know you don't have anything better to do, so I will see you in Exam Room 2 in 10 minutes, and you will bring a decent amount of money to bet with. Good-bye!" House hung up. Jade smiled at him. She was only now beginning to see just how much she was like her father. Jade got up, and followed her father out of his office.

When they reached Exam Room 2, they found an unhappy Wilson waiting for them. He got up and said to House,

"Alright, I brought my money. What the hell was your phone call about?" House sighed and said,

"My daughter kidnapped me, and forced me to call me. She secretly carries a weapon, and is willing to beat us all to death with her stick. That isn't nearly as dirty as it sounds." Wilson rolled his eyes and said,

"So, how do you play this betting game?" Jade said,

"The game is called 'Bullshit'. The main goal is to lie your way to the end and end up without any cards. We will call it Baloney Sandwich, in case Mommy comes in a chews you two out for teaching me to bet and swear. Now, we deal out the deck, until there aren't any cards left," she did this and then continued, "look at your cards and _only your own cards, Daddy._" House humphed and stopped peeking at Wilson's cards. He knew the quickest way to make Cuddy angry was to make her daughter angry. Jade then continued, "We have to go in numerical order. In case the word numerical escapes the vast vocabulary you have, father, it means in the order of numbers. Like Ace, 2, 3, 4, and so on. If you don't have any of the cards that you have to have, you lie. For example, if it's Queens to me, and I don't have any Queens, I can put down, say a 7, and call it a Queen. The cards are face down. You have to say how many of the card you are putting down. When you think someone is lying, you say 'Bullshit!', and if they were lying, they have to pick up all the cards. If they are telling the truth, you have to pick up all the cards. Any questions?"

Wilson had to try to keep himself from smiling. This girl was definitely out of the norm. Not only was she ordering adults around, but she was also insulting her father's intelligence. He gave in, and did his best to hide the smile he knew was sitting proudly on his face. Jade saw it, and grinned. She said,

"Now, we should probably agree how much we want to bet. Since it is illegal for children my age to bet professionally, I will have to use my father's money, and if I win, I get to keep the money. I need allowance anyway. Daddy, how much do you want to bet?" House looked at Wilson, not believing that his best friend was taking orders from his daughter. House said,

"I will be betting $50. Jade will be betting $50. Wilson, raise the bet." Wilson sighed and said,

"I'm betting $50." House sighed and said,

"Unreliable oncologist." Jade smiled but said nothing. She laid down a card and said,

"One Ace." She looked to Wilson. Wilson laid down a 7 face-up and said,

"One 2." House pointed at him and said,

"Bullshit, you liar. Pick up the cards." Wilson looked down, turned red, and silently picked up the cards. Jade smiled. She looked to House. He laid down a card and said,

"One 3." Jade said calmly,

"Bullshit." House looked at her murderously, and picked his card back up. Jade threw down two cards and said,

"Two 4s." No one challenged her. Wilson threw down four cards and said,

"Four 5s." Jade looked at him incredulously and said,

"Bullshit!" Wilson picked up the cards. Jade commented,

"Man, you two are like obsessive compulsive **liars." **House and Wilson remained silent for the rest of the game. Need less to say, Jade won. She pulled in the $150 dollars, and said,

"Mine, all mine!" She looked at her father and Wilson. She asked,

"Would you like to play again?" Wilson shrugged, but House threw down a $100 bill and said,

"You honestly think I would concede defeat to my 16 year-old daughter? Never!" Wilson reluctantly threw on his own $100, knowing full well that he wouldn't get it back. He couldn't lie to save his soul.

At the end of 3 hours and House's clinic duty, the cash stood thus:

Jade: $700

House: $200

Wilson: $0

Jade looked at Wilson's non-existent amount of money, and her father's rather pitiful pile, and laughed. This was the man she had seen beat the crap out of Wilson in poker? She picked up her winnings and stuffed them in her pocket. She said with mock-respect,

"Gentlemen, it has been a pleasure playing with you. Feel free to come and challenge my reign anytime within the hours of 10 am and 11 pm, Monday through Friday. Anytime on Saturday and Sunday will work for me." With that, she swished her long brown hair around, and left the exam room in a wake of ocean breeze and the smell of money. Wilson and House looked at each other. House couldn't believe that he had just lost $400 to his teenage daughter. Wilson couldn't believe he and House had lost to Jade. He sighed and said,

"Screw clinic duty. We should do this everyday." He got up, and left, leaving House alone with his patient file. He got up and grabbed his cane. He limped out of the clinic area, desperately hoping to avoid the sexy she-devil that was referred to by most humans as 'Dr. Cuddy'. He referred to her as 'sexy she-devil'. House smiled devilishly when he saw an unsuspecting nurse. He assumed his injured-patient look, and limped up to her, leaning heavily on his cane. He limped up to her and said in a pained voice,

"Excuse me, nurse. I think I have foreign-leg-syndrome. See..." The woman turned around, and House's joke was immediately cut off when he saw something familiar flash from the woman's eyes. It was that look a nurse or Cameron got when they had to tell a family someone had died. He grabbed her shoulders and said,

"What happened? Who died?" The nurse started crying silently as she handed him the patient file she held in her trembling hands. He threw it open… and found his mother's name in the slot for the patient. He looked down the details, and found his mother had just been rushed into the ER after having a car collision with a semi towing wrecked cars. He threw the file harshly at the crying nurse, heading straight to Wilson's office.

"WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU TELL ME SOONER?" Wilson shouted at Jade, who looked down sorrowfully. Wilson paced back and forth in his office, mulling over the information that his boss was pregnant with his best friend's child. He started sweating and said, "This is… I mean… wait, you did tell House, right?" Jade shook her head and said,

"Mom made me promise not to. She only found out last night. Oh, and she wanted me to thank you for her, since you and I set them up. So, when do you think House will figure out the kid is his? I mean, he might not want to admit it, and she might not want to admit it, but I'll bet you $100 that's the first time in years they both got laid at the same time." Wilson nodded absentmindedly. Jade could tell that he was still absorbing all of this. He sat in his office chair and said disbelievingly,

"I'm gonna be Uncle Wilson." Jade frowned and said,

"What? You mean the kid is going to call you that, or you will biologically be Uncle Wilson?" Wilson looked at her, rose from his chair and said,

"Listen up. Now I'm going to put this very bluntly, since I don't know how else to put it: Cuddy is my half-sister." Jade looked at him in disbelief. She said skeptically,

"Really? Because if you're my uncle, then I'm your niece. You and Cuddy look nothing alike." Wilson looked down and mumbled,

"Our mother was a hooker. She tried to keep her profession hidden from us, but I eventually found out about the hole in the wall that held Cuddy. When I was hired later at her hospital, I still recognized her as the little dirty girl that would enjoy our mother's affections within the confines of a secret room. That is why I haven't ever made a move on her. She may be completely and utterly beautiful, but she is my sister." Jade nodded and said with a smile,

"Well, Uncle Wilson, it seems you should be used to the title by now, considering you should have had it for the past four months." Wilson looked up at her. He smiled, and hugged her tightly. Jade was more than slightly taken aback, but she hugged him back.

Just then, House came charging into Wilson's office, intruding on a private-no-longer uncle/niece moment. He ignored Jade and said to Wilson,

"Come down to the ER with me. Now." Only then did he notice Jade in his best friend's arms. He stared at her, and then pointed to the door with his cane, saying angrily, "Leave. Now."

Jade hurriedly got out, and stood right next to the door. Wilson was about to protest to House's way of dealing with his daughter, but the desperation and fear in his best friend's eyes stopped him. He followed House quickly out of the office, and headed straight to the elevator. Behind his back, he made a motion for Jade to come with. She followed quickly and silently. House didn't notice her in the elevator.

When they reached the ER room, House was the first out of the elevator, limping faster than anyone had ever seen him do so. Jade and Wilson ran after him. House pounced on the nearest nurse, saying,

"Where is she, you helpless piece of ass?" The nurse, knowing who he was talking about, pointed to the nearest bed, her hand shaking terrified. House ran to the bed, and ducked quickly inside the curtain, Jade and Wilson right on his heels.

Blythe House lay on the hospital bed, an IV and a thousand other needles poking into her. House looked at her bandage-wrapped head, purple arms, and steadily beeping heart monitor. He sank onto the nearest chair. Wilson burst into the room, took one look at the woman in the bed, and sank to the cold linoleum floor. Jade looked at her father and Wilson, confused. Judging from House's expression and Wilson's reaction, she guessed this to be her grandmother. She ran to her side and whispered,

"Grandma?" She turned to House, who nodded miserably. Jade looked over her grandmother. The wispy swirls of grey hair, the slim and wrinkled hands, and the sticking out veins forced her to conclude that yes, this was her grandmother, lying almost dead on the hospital bed. Jade reached and put her hands on her grandmother's shoulders. She said as tears silently flew down her cheeks, "Grandma, wake up. Get up. Wake up, your bastard of a son cares enough about you to haul his ass down here, and be unhappy in your name for the first time in who-knows-how-many years. He cares, and I care about you, Grandma." If Blythe heard any of Jade's short speech, she showed no sign. Jade folded up her knees under her, and sat on the linoleum, next to Wilson, at the foot of her grandmother's bed. Even though she had never known the woman, she still cried for her pain. Jade turned to Wilson, and buried her face in his side as she cried. Wilson let himself cry a little as well. He patted Jade's back, not knowing what else one should do to comfort a grieving teenager.

Jade's tears slowly got worse and worse as she started crying not only for her grandmother, but for all the other things she had wrong in her life. Her strange family, her addicted father, her lack of acceptance at school, and all the things she had cried about to herself all those lonely nights in her room, long after her mother had slept. This was her one chance to let her tears fall freely in public, to let the world know just how screwed up Jade Cuddy House was.

Once Jade's tears had slowed from a rushing waterfall to a trickling stream, she got up, and slowly made her way to her father's office. There, she curled up into a tight ball on the couch, and continued crying silently to her self.

Jade didn't like crying in public, because it made her vulnerable to the rest of the world. It showed that she wasn't the Wonder Woman of reality; that she still needed a good cry every now and then too. She didn't want people to know that beneath her unfazed and strong armor, she was still just a little girl with feeling, emotions, and sadness. She didn't want to be made vulnerable to the rest of the world. When she cried in private, she was allowed to open up her soul, and not have to worry about anyone seeing her in such a distraught state.

Just when she was almost done crying and was reduced to sniffling, deep gasping, and hiccups, Cuddy walked into House's office. It was obvious that she had come with intentions of chewing House out about something. However, her iron hard resolve was instantly melted when she spotted Jade huddled on the couch. She sat down on the couch beside Jade, and put her arm around her shoulders. Jade desperately tried to reassert control over her frazzled body. Soon, the only evidence she had been crying was her wet shirt, red eyes, and stained face. Cuddy gently asked her,

"Can you tell me why you were crying?" Jade nodded and said calmly in a voice lacking all emotion,

"Grandma House is in the ER." Cuddy took this surprising news very well. Her eyes got wide, and then they quickly returned to normal. She continued talking to Jade,

"I didn't know you loved strangers this much. You were crying because of something else." Jade ignored her, still trying to keep her cool. Cuddy pressed her again, "Tell me why else you were crying." Jade shook her head again, now a little irritated that her mother wouldn't just let it drop. Cuddy, being a woman of perseverance, said, "Give me one more little tiny reason you're crying." Jade looked up at her mother and said in no uncertain terms,

"No." Cuddy was taken aback. She was a hospital administrator; no one but House questioned her rule. She ordered Jade,

"Jade House, tell me why you were crying." Jade shot up off the couch, her anger incensed, and she let her inner wounded panther lash out. She shouted at Cuddy,

"Why do you care, Cuddy? Why do you care whether I laugh or cry? All you do is work! You know want to know something? The day before I came here was my 16th birthday! You're always saying how much you missed me over the past 16 years, and yet I haven't heard you say 'I love you' once! Never! Even Dad shows his love in his own strange ways! Why can't you put me before work just once! That morning I was barfing, and all you did was call me in sick at school! You left me there alone, puking up my guts, and you didn't call to check on me even once! Now tell me why all those slipped your mind! Explain it, damn it!" Cuddy sat silently on the couch, her eyes looking hollow as tears fell down her face. Jade's anger quickly evaporated as quickly as it had come to light. She ran over to her mother, and started repeating over and over again,

"I'm sorry I'm sorry I'm sorry. Please forgive. I'm such a bad daughter. I know you're trying your best." As Jade said this, Cuddy attempted to talk over her, saying,

"No, I'm sorry I pushed you. It's my fault. You're a very good daughter. I don't know why I was pushing you. I'm sorry." They both eventually stopped repeating 'I'm sorry', and lapsed into silence on the couch. Jade suddenly got up, and tugged on Cuddy's hand, saying,

"Come on Mom, we have to make sure Dad and Wilson are OK, and see how Grandma is." Cuddy rose silently, and followed her as they both rushed down the halls of the hospital.

When Jade and Cuddy reached the separate enclosure that held Blythe House, they found House asleep on the chair and Wilson's spot at the foot of the bed empty. Cuddy rushed out to get the file for Blythe, and Jade sat down on the cold hard linoleum by her father's chair. Cuddy walked back in, and lost her breath to the sentimental view of her daughter leaning against House's good leg as he slept. Cuddy walked over, and sat down next to Jade. She whispered,

"It says here that she was in a bad car accident. Fractured skull, broken tibia, and major loss of blood at the scene. They think she might not make it through the night. I'm so sorry." Jade leaned on Cuddy's shoulder, and simply stared at the floor. Cuddy thought about what a cruel and unpredictable world this was for her unborn child to come into. House dreamed of hookers, a naked Cuddy, and walking without limping. Jade dreamed on the cold hospital linoleum of playing catch with her father, when he didn't have a bum leg. Cuddy slept at her house with a blanket wrapped tightly around her waist, dreaming that the blanket was House's arms.


	12. The Bump and House's House

House, Cuddy, and Jade stayed the night in the ER. When House woke up from his dream, he acted completely unemotional, but Jade could tell that beneath his façade, he was still at least somewhat upset about his mother.

Blythe House died that morning at 9: 07. She died of hemorrhaging in her brain that was inaccessible. Her funeral was held the next day.

House was acting odd for the next few days. He would at least act like he cared about his patients. He finished all of his clinic duty unassisted and without playing Bullshit. Jade held no change, other than she was more careful when dealing with her mother. Cuddy was more careful with House and Jade. The whole hospital except for Wilson walked on eggshells for the next week. Then, 2 weeks after Blythe had passed, it happened.

Cuddy came to work in a slightly different shirt. Instead of being the one of the usually slimming shirts she owned, it was a shirt that emphasized the small bump representing the growing babe she housed. Some of then nurses stared at her. She went first to Wilson's office, under the pretense of talking to him about House's recent behavior and indifference about his mother's passing.

She had no more to do than enter Wilson's office and say his name when he noticed the definitive bump. He gawked at it, and Cuddy giggled. Wilson took a deep breath, and Cuddy had a feeling that Wilson wasn't as happy as he had been other times she had shown up in his office pregnant. There really wasn't anything different about this baby, other than it was House's. She asked Wilson concernedly,

"What's wrong?" Wilson cleared his eyes of the small little buds of anger in them, though Cuddy could tell that they were just lurking below the surface. He said,

"Nothing is wrong. I'm just thinking… well; don't get your hopes up, OK? I don't want to see you go through all that depression and such again. Not again." Cuddy nodded, and Wilson could tell that he all but rained her parade out of town. Cuddy looked up into his eyes, and her eyes had taken on the sheen taken to by the eyes of the sad and weeping. Wilson pulled her into a hug, and whispered quietly as she cried silently,

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that. I have complete faith that you will carry this baby for full term." Cuddy laughed at herself, and said,

"No, it's OK. You're just stating the facts. It's not your fault that all the other babies died premature. I don't blame you. I just wish that I had more faith in myself, or at least as much as you seem to." Wilson nodded, and said,

"Have you told House yet?" Cuddy looked down shamefully. He sighed, and held up his hands in a surrendering way and said, "I won't be telling him. That's a job for the pregnant lady." Cuddy smiled up at him. He asked, "Have you had an ultrasound yet?" Cuddy shook her head and said,

"I wanted you to be there, since House won't." Wilson smiled at her, grabbed her hand, and they rushed down the halls to the maternity ward. Neither noticed a mysterious figure with a limp watching them from the open shades to Wilson's office, nor did they notice him when he followed them through the halls.

In the maternity ward, many of the nurses smiled at Cuddy, but a small fear was visible in their eyes. None of them wanted to see Cuddy upset if this child didn't make it. Wilson lightly grabbed a nurse's forearm and said,

"Can we get an ultrasound please?" The nurse was fairly new. She nodded, and the two more important doctors followed her to an exam room. Wilson sat in the chair by the bed-like thing Cuddy laid down on. The nurse came back a few minutes later. She said,

"Hello, Dr. Cuddy. Dr. Wilson, nice to see you too." The nurse's nametag read: 'Georgia Anderson'. Anderson booted up the ultrasound machine as Cuddy lay on the table nervously. Anderson rubbed the chilly gel on Cuddy's abdomen, and pulled over the wand attached to the machine. Cuddy looked away from the screen fearfully. Wilson knew that the last thing she wanted to do was getting attached to this child when there was a good chance of her losing it. The nurse smiled motherly at Wilson, who gently laid his hand on Cuddy's arm and said gently,

"It's OK. You can look now." Cuddy slowly turned her head to the screen, and smiled with all her happiness welling up inside of her. She felt like she could fly on the wings of pregnancy, she was so happy to still be carrying her baby. A few times she had lost her child long before this. Unlike all of her other pregnancies, this time she wanted to see what gender her child was. The young fetus she carried was a little baby boy. Cuddy started to cry with happiness. Wilson held her arm and hand, and let her cry a little bit into his shoulder and a lot onto her shirt.

House stood outside the room unnoticed. He watched as Cuddy and Wilson had their little sentimental moment. He knew that somewhere deep down Wilson wanted Cuddy at least somewhat. The major question House was pondering was how much that somewhat was. Wilson was definitely acting more than friendly toward Cuddy. If House hadn't known Wilson wouldn't have the guts or balls to sleep with Cuddy, he would say that Wilson was the father. Then, he saw Wilson and Cuddy exchange very deep and intimate smiles. House felt a sudden weight in his stomach. Was it possible that House had somehow missed Wilson and Cuddy getting together and having sex? He decided to do more digging into this before he beat the shit out of Wilson for sleeping with his girl. He had thought there was some sort of unspoken agreement that Cuddy was his girl. Hell, Wilson had tried to get them to date each other more than once. Why would he have slept with Cuddy? This question and the image of Cuddy's baby boy made them-selves comfortable in his mind and tortured him all the way back to his office.

When he arrived at his office, he was surprised out of his mental questioning when he saw Jade lying on the floor, blood in her hair, and on the front of her shirt. He limped over, and knelt painfully next to her. Her eyes were staring up at the ceiling, unblinking; her face was more pale then the moon. He walked over to Jade and nudged her side hardly with his cane. Her eyes swiveled to look at him. He smiled mischievously and said,

"Not bad, but the fact that you are breathing does put the slightly phony twist on it. Not enough blood on the carpet for you to be pale. No murder weapon." Jade got up, and said,

"So more blood, hold breath, and maybe a hastily scribbled note?" House nodded and asked,

"You are practicing for your mother?" Jade shook her head and said,

"Wilson. I can't wait to see if he falls for it." House smiled, and asked,

"Why are you here? Other than to play dead?" Jade got up and pulled a rag out of her pocket to wipe all the white make-up off her face. She said,

"I am going to spend my first night at your house tonight. Unless you already have a whore planned for tonight?" House looked down and said,

"Damn, that's what I forgot to do while I was looking at porn." Jade smiled and said,

"So, when are you leaving to night?" House glanced at his computer clock, and said,

"I leave about 10 minutes ago." Jade grinned, and grabbed the book she had brought to the hospital for those boring hours. House snagged his jacket from the back of a chair as he left the office. They walked out of the hospital together into the twilight night. House limped and Jade walked over to the motorcycle. They both put on their helmets, and Jade waited for her father to get on. He didn't. He said in his endearing trouble-making way, "Your turn to drive." Jade's face paled to the point of her previous death. She said,

"But I haven't ever driven before! I don't know how!" House shrugged and said,

"No time like the present. That was one of my rare optimistic moments. Don't remember that." Jade smiled, and tentatively got onto the motorcycle. Her father got on behind her, and put his hands on her hands. Jade lightly pushed down on the gas. Nothing happened. House turned the key, but said nothing. Jade reapplied her foot to the gas. The motorcycle purred to life. Jade spontaneously smiled, even though this was probably one of the scariest moments of her life. She jerkily turned the handlebars in the direction of the exit of the hospital parking lot. House helped her direct the bike home. There was one close call where they almost became paint on a semi when Jade almost forgot to hit the brakes at the last minute.

They arrived at the apartment 20 minutes after they would have if House had driven. They removed their helmets, and walked into the apartment. Jade looked around, and nodded her head. She liked the homey mess all around. The half-full Vicodin bottles, the dirty clothes, the empty bottles of scotch, and the cluttered counters truly made the place home. Jade threw the overnight bag she had hauled from the hospital onto the couch, plopped down next to it, and turned the TV onto the USA channel. She watched NCIS, despite House's threat two weeks prior about watching anything but porn and soap operas. He grabbed a beer and a Mountain Dew from the fridge, and sat down on the couch next to Jade. Jade grabbed the Mountain Dew and popped the lid. She chugged it quickly, setting down an empty can. House looked at her weirdly, but said nothing. Jade noticed his look, and said,

"Mom doesn't believe in soft drinks. I haven't had a pop in 4 months. How many more of these do you have?" House said,

"Check the fridge. There might be some more. Help yourself." Jade looked at him with mock-surprise and said,

"My House, are you being _hospitable?_" House threw up his hands and said,

"You try to be a tiny bit nice, and suddenly everyone thinks you are a fluffy bunny!" Jade laughed, and came back to the living room bearing two more beers and a 6-pack of Mountain Dews and a few rootbeers. She turned to House and asked,

"What time do you sleep around here?" He shrugged and said,

"Whenever I'm tired." Jade nodded and popped open a rootbeer. They spent the next 2 hours flicking channels and watching random things. When they had gone through all 113 channels, House turned off the TV, and crossed to his beloved baby grand piano. He sat down, and started randomly playing 'Joy's Memorial'. Jade sat down, and listened. Thought she said nothing, House could tell she liked it. When he finished, Jade got up, and sat down next to him. She tentatively pressed a few keys. House could tell she hadn't spent much time with a piano. He let her dink around for a bit, and then he put his hands on hers, and started plating Beethoven's 9th Symphony. Jade was bewildered, not knowing her father, the rough and sarcastic plague upon her mother, could caress the ivory and black masterpiece with such gentleness and care. This was the side of her father that he rarely ever showed. She mentally catalogued this moment for future recollection. They spent the next few hours saying nothing, but stroking the keys on the piano until Jade could play as good as someone who had been taking lessons for years. Her father was the perfect teacher. He didn't verbally abuse her when she screwed-up; he simply forced her hand to the correct key, and started up again a few measures before the mistake. At 1 am, House got up, and instantly regretted sitting for so long. He downed 2 Vicodin quickly as Jade stretched. She yawned and said,

"Where do I sleep?" House gestured to the bedroom. Jade looked at him questioningly. He said,

"I'll be sleeping on the couch." Jade shook her head and said,

"No you won't. I don't have the bum leg. No offense, but I'm younger, so I can sleep better on a couch than you old and feeble people can." House smiled at her and said,

"Yet again, I try to be nice, and people get all pissy about it. What is wrong with this world?" Jade ignored him, and pulled the blankets she had brought out of her bag. She walked over to the bathroom, and put on her pajamas. House sighed, and went to the bedroom, shutting the door while he changed.

At 2:30 am, Jade stealthily crept into her father's room to find him sitting in bed reading. He looked up, and frowned at her. He said,

"Aren't you supposed to be asleep by now?" Jade shrugged,

"Usually I'm asleep pretty soon, but I just can't sleep. I get like that sometimes. You can't snooze either?" House shrugged. Jade sat on the bed next to him. She peeked at the title of his book and read aloud, "'The History of the Beatles'. Sounds pretty boring." House shrugged. Jade bounced a bit and said,

"Want to play Truth or Dare?" House sighed and said,

"You won't leave me alone until I do something with you, will you?" Jade shook her head happily. House sighed again and shut his book. He turned to her and said,

"Fine. I'll play." Jade smiled and said,

"Truth or Dare, Daddy?" House replied instantly,

"Dare." Jade smiled and said,

"I dare you to… wear condoms on your fingers when you go to work tomorrow and keep them on all day." House smiled and said,

"Oh you naughty little thing you." Jade grinned deviously. He then said, "Truth or Dare? Either way, you'll die." Jade smiled and said daringly,

"Dare. Hit me with your best shot." House said so quickly Jade could have sworn that he had been planning it since forever,

"I dare you to call your mother and tell her you're knocked up." Jade blushed a deep red and said,

"Chicken. I'm not playing until you agree that there will be no phone-calls, and no disgusting things like stripping for the people next door." House sighed and said,

"You're no fun. I quit. All bets off." Jade got up and said,

"Fine." She left. House was surprised that Jade would leave so soon. He had a feeling that she was only waiting for him to came to her and agree to her terms. Well, the great Gregory House wasn't the type to give into a little girl's silly game, even if it was similar to the one he played with her mother every day.

10 MINUTES LATER…

House walked up to Jade and said,

"I'm not going to play your silly little game." Jade nodded. House noticed that response was becoming a regular one. Jade put a bookmark in her book and moved to her bag. She pulled out a clarinet that she must have thrown into her bag when she left her old home. House didn't know she was trained in any musical instrument. She sucked on the reed while she put it together the instrument. It was a matted black and the metal shone like it had been polished for hours on end. Jade put the reed on the clarinet, and put the instrument to her mouth. She started playing 'Joy's Memorial', and House was surprised that she had picked up the notes so fast. She played just loud enough that House could hear it well, but it was quiet enough that at times it seemed that the wind was playing the song with the skill of a human. Jade played through the song twice, and then set the instrument down. House clapped in a way that looked begrudging, but they both knew that deep down he was proud that his daughter shared his love of music. House walked over to his piano and started playing 'I'm Sorry' by John Lennon (?). Jade once again took up her place on the couch, playing the words in her head until she realized that her father was singing them softly under his breath. Jade tuned her ears to his seraphic voice, and let both the music and song wash over. She knew that never in her life would she feel so content or tranquil. Jade lounged on the couch, and slowly fell asleep to the sound of her father's playing and voice.

Jade woke up that morning at 4:30, her internal clock never resting. She rubbed her eyes, and quickly registered her surroundings. She then took a second to decipher the cacophony of noise coming from her father's room as snoring. Jade quietly turned on a light, and opened up her book.

House woke up at the hour of 11:30 to the sunlight streaming through his window. He remembered that night 4 months ago when he had seen that same light come to rest on the gorgeous face of Lisa Cuddy. He rubbed his eyes and thigh. As was his morning custom, he downed a couple of Vicodin. He got up, and lumbered out to the living room in only his boxers. He found Jade sitting quiet and alert and dressed on the couch, her eyes flying swiftly across the lines of her book. House read out loud,

"'Scruffy'. Sounds rather boring." Jade looked up and smiled radiantly at him. House could almost see Cuddy there on the couch; Jade's smile was so like her mother's. House limped over and Jade asked,

"What time do you go into work?" House replied with a yawn,

"Whenever I want or whenever I'm paged." Jade once again nodded quietly. She returned to her book, knowing that her father would need some time to fully wake up.

About 15 minutes after her father got up, Jade turned to him and asked,

"What do you have for breakfast?" House shrugged and said,

"Cereal? Toast? Whatever is in the fridge or cupboards and isn't moldy." Jade nodded and asked,

"Do you have any sausage or something? Mom is as good as a vegetarian, so any meat you have would be greatly appreciated." House made no move to get up but said,

"How do you live at her place? No soda; no beer; no meat; what do you eat there?" Jade shrugged and said,

"Mac and cheese, vegetables, fruit, other semi-tasteless things?" House shook his head and said,

"There should be some old sausage in the freezer. Make some for me." Jade smiled and nodded. She got up, and crossed to the freezer. Soon after, there was bacon and sausage defrosting, and some scrambled eggs steaming on two plates. Jade brought a plate over to her father, who stared at it like it was about to jump up and run away. Jade smiled and asked,

"When was the last time you had a home-cooked meal?" House replied,

"When Jimmy stayed over." Jade smiled and almost started laughing, but said nothing. House took a fork from Jade's hand, and started wolfing down the eggs. Jade ate hers with less gusto and more poise. When she finished, she took her and her father's plates to the kitchen, where she hand-washed them. When she finished doing that, she dried them. By that time, the pan of boiling water was ready for the sausage. She put it in, and turned the heat down slightly. She then turned on the oven, and got a rack prepared for bacon. She hung around the kitchen until the sausage was ready. She removed it from the heat, and plopped a few sausages onto each of the freshly washed plates. She took one to her father, and this time he didn't stare at it, he simply ate it. Jade watched him as he savored the taste. She knew that he didn't want her to notice, but she did. She silently vowed to herself that at least twice a week she would come to her father's apartment and cook a meal for him. When they had both finished their meals, Jade once again washed the silverware and plates. She put the bacon in the oven, and set the timer. She moved back to the couch, where her father had been staring out the window. Jade brought him out of his little world when she asked,

"Just out of curiosity, are you allergic to anything?" House told her without looking at her,

"Curiosity killed the cat." Jade smartly replied,

"Since I'm not a cat, that's okay." House sighed and said,

"I'm allergic to morals and humanity. No food or drugs, thank goodness." Jade nodded and said,

"Good, because I seriously think I am going to make you breakfast for the next week and put it in the fridge for you." House looked at her weird and she shrugged. The timer dinged, and Jade got up, and put the done bacon the plates. She handed House his, and he sniffed at it, since it didn't quite smell like bacon. Little did he know that Jade had made a special coating for it she had had once at a friend's house. The coating was some dry mustard and some brown sugar. House apparently decided that the bacon was safe since Jade was eating it with gusto. House tentatively nibbled a corner of some, and a myriad of flavors exploded in his mouth. He found the bacon almost magical. He and Jade made short work of the 2 packs she had made. He licked his lips, and Jade laughed. She cleared their plates again, and again she washed them. She came back to the living room, and put her hands on her hips. She said in the same tone Cuddy often took,

"Shouldn't you go to work about now?" House shrugged. Jade sighed, and determinedly tried to pull her father up off the couch. Like the little 5-year-old he was sometimes, he put all his effort into making himself as heavy as possible. Jade finally succeeded. House huffed, and slowly meandered over to his room to get dressed for work.

House came out of his room dressed in his traditional white button-down shirt and black pants. Jade stood just outside the doorway. She looked him up and down before she nodded her head in satisfaction. He and Jade made their way to the door.

When House and Jade arrived, they walked in the door to find Cuddy standing by the nurse's station, looking through files. House took this one moment to admire her in all her pregnant beauty. Her long ebony curls cascaded in just the right way down her long slender back. Her long slender legs made House almost want to drool. Even the tiny bump in her belly looked beautiful. The tiny bump. House frowned as once again his mind went over his thoughts over who had fathered Cuddy's child. He still hadn't decided whether Wilson was the father of Cuddy's child. House decided he would handle this thing the same he had handled everything: Butt heads with it, and crack it wide open. He quickly avoided Cuddy, and headed for Wilson's office. Jade followed him like a shadow. She sincerely thought he had forgotten that she was around. The ride and walk to Wilson's office were silent. Once there, Jade refrained from a staged production and simply knocked politely on the door. Wilson came to the door, and opened. Without being invited in, House pushed past Wilson and seated himself in the patient's chair. Jade crept over to the couch in the back of the room, and settled in for a good show. Wilson sighed, and sat down in his chair. He asked,

"And to what do I owe this unexpected pleasure?" House looked at him and said brusquely,

"Did you sleep with Cuddy?" Jade looked between her father and Wilson with wide eyes and a gaping mouth. House looked at Wilson, his eyes betraying no emotion. Wilson looked at House, appalled. He said,

"No, you—Why would you—No!" House got up and walked out without any explanation to his question. Jade got up and followed him, leaving a bewildered Wilson in his office. Jade walked side-by-side with House and asked,

"What the hell was that all about?" House ignored her. Jade sighed and said,

"I think you should know something. I don't know if Wilson told you, but you can't tell Cuddy." House looked at her, intrigued. What was so secret between Wilson and Jade? House pushed the button for an elevator, and the elevator pinged to their floor. Jade and House got in, and the doors shut. Jade turned to House and said bluntly,

"Dad, Wilson is Cuddy's brother. She doesn't know. Technically, you slept with your best friend's sister." House nearly fell over when the elevator stopped. That was one of the biggest surprises he had heard in the past 4 months. He smiled unthinkingly when he realized that it was impossible for Wilson to father one of Cuddy's children. He wouldn't be able to live with himself if he had slept with his sister. Even if she was hot. Jade noticed his smile and asked,

"What's with the smile, o solemn one?" House turned to her and said,

"Just the fact that I did sleep with my best friend's sister multiple times. No, I do not feel any happiness, only the feeling of victory in throwing Jimmy off the regular course of life." Jade nodded, but she had a hunch that he was smiling that Wilson hadn't slept with Cuddy. Actually, she knew that he had lied to her face, but she didn't mind.

Now, however, House was faced with a problematic question: Who had fathered Cuddy's fetus? House went through all the possibilities, but came up with only one possibility: himself. He shook his head. That couldn't be right. Cuddy wanted a child desperately, but not even she would consent to carry and raise his child. Who would want a mini House wandering around? He decided that the only way to be sure about the unborn boy's father was to read the big leather-bound book Cuddy was always writing in. House had come to the conclusion long ago that this must be her diary. He had read it on multiple occasions, and was never disappointed. Jade shook her father back to reality when she stopped him from banging into the doorframe to his office. He had been so deep in his thoughts that he hadn't seen it. She smiled and said,

"So, the elderly cripple is now blind as well?" House glared at her, but she only laughed. House told her,

"You should probably spend the night with your mother, before she catches on to our 2 am nights." Jade nodded. She went to find her mother to inform her of her plans. House went into his office, locked the door, and sat down to let the fact he could possibly have a baby boy on the way fully sink into his mind.

THAT NIGHT…

House quietly walked through the hospital to Cuddy's office. The lights were out, so he knew she and Jade had left. The door was unlocked, so his pushed it open, not bothering to try to be quiet. He limped over to her desk, and tried to open the drawers. They, unlike the door, were locked. He pulled out the lock-picking set Wilson had given him for Christmas, and set to work on the first drawer. The lock gave way without much effort. Much to House's surprise, the book he sought was in that drawer. He brought it out, and carried over to the couch. He settled in for the next few hours, knowing that it would take him a while to work his way through the big book. He flipped through the pages until he found the entry he was looking for. It read:

June 30, 2009 Thursday 11:30 am

I just got back to work after the most amazing nights. I slept with House! That's the first time I slept with anyone in 16 years. Now that I come to think of it, the biggest ass I know is the only man I ever slept with. He is HUGE! Not only that, he is more awesome in bed than I remembered. I wonder if I'm pregnant. When James found out we had slept together, he seemed happy, but also a little upset. Must find a way to let him know I'm not interested in him romantically. House better not tell anyone but Wilson that we slept together. I think I will fire him if he does. He sets my skin on fire, and my heart beats so fast I swear it could fly. I think… I love him. Hmmm… love and House just don't seem to go together. That's makes no sense. Why would I love the bane of my existence? Still, I never felt this way about another man. My feelings for James don't even come close to what I feel for Greg. God, how do I tell him that I love him?

House finished reading that entry, and realized that he possibly loved her. But those feelings she felt for James, those he could explain. If she liked him better than her own brother, she _must_ love him. If she loved him that meant his chances of rejection were low. He might actually be able to make a go of this. He was the only man she had slept with. That little nugget of information made House happy at his victory of being the only man to ever get into the pants of the great Lisa Cuddy. House continued to comb the rest of the diary for any other times she had slept with any other man. From that day 4 months ago, there were no other mentions of any other times of having sex with another man. House found the entry that followed Cuddy's realization she was pregnant. It read:

October 27, 2009 Wednesday 4:07 pm

I'm pregnant! Oh my God, I just realized that the kid must be House's. OH MY GOD! How do I tell him? I could just walk up to him tomorrow and tell him. No, I probably would scare him off just when he was starting to respond to me. I could leave him a note and then leave the country. No, he would think I was ashamed, when I'm actually happy about it. Wilson could tell him. No, he wouldn't. Jade would, though. No, that's too much pressure to put on a child. Besides, House would probably shoot the messenger. How do I do this? I guess I could just not tell him. Yes, that's it. What he doesn't know can't make him angry. God, I feel so bad that he would have a child but not know about it. I guess my hands are tied: I have to tell him in person. I'll wait for the right moment. At least then when I chicken out, I can tell my self that the right moment never came along. This child puts me in a very strange position. I should get an ultrasound soon. I think I want Wilson to be there. I can assume House won't want to be there. No, he _won't_ be there. I don't think I could stand his slights on his own child. God, I'm tired. Time to sleep, I guess. Goodnight.

House closed the book, and carried it back to the open drawer he had found it in. So, he was the father. Though House tried to squash it, he still felt a small little prick of pride and happiness that he was going to have a boy. House thought over how he would tell Cuddy he knew about the boy. Then, a thought came unbidden to his mind: Who would want him for a father? He thought back to his own childhood; how his father had beaten him. He didn't want to force that on a child. _His _child. He came to the conclusion that it would be better if the child knew him as simply a pain in the ass to his mother rather than a father. But then House thought over how he treated Jade. She seemed to be happy. Was it possible that he would be a decent father? Then House reasoned with himself that she had been brought up by someone else, and he hadn't been around her enough to really be angry at her. No, he wouldn't participate in Cuddy's boy's life. House was still torn between his choices when he thought, _The hell with it, Jimmy will decide for me._ With that, he set off to Wilson's office, knowing that his friend had a habit of working late since Amber had died.


	13. House's Decisions

House opened the door to Wilson's office, and found his friend bent over the ever-present paperwork. Wilson looked up in surprise. House plopped down into a chair and said matter-of-factly,

"I slept with your sister." Wilson's face paled and he whispered,

"How did you know?" House smiled and said,

"Jade." Wilson looked down and muttered,

"That traitor." House smiled again and said,

"So it's true?" Wilson nodded and asked,

"What are you doing here?" House looked around and said,

"Cuddy's pregnant with my child." Wilson nodded and said,

"So?" House looked at him with wide eyes and said disbelievingly,

"You knew?" Wilson nodded again. House threw his hands up and said,

"You can't trust anyone anymore." Wilson defended,

"Jade told me and said Cuddy had let her tell me on the condition that I didn't tell anyone, including you. Sorry." House ignored, and simply looked at him. They sat in silence, until Wilson said,

"What are you going to do?" House said definitively,

"I am going to do nothing." Wilson stared at him like he was crazy and said,

"You are going to do _nothing?"_ House nodded and asked,

"Is that a problem?" Wilson shook his head in disbelief. He blubbered incoherently,

"But that's… you shouldn't… you idiot… you're so stupid!" House just sat there, his face a tantalizing enigma that Wilson desperately tried to wrestle an answer to this craziness out of. He failed epically. Wilson huffed, and sat back in his chair, sulking at his failure. Just then, the proverbial light bulb came on. He looked at House, understanding flooding his brown eyes. He said,

"This is because of your father, isn't it?" House said nothing, but Wilson knew his friend well enough to decipher the slight change in expression as a yes. Wilson sighed frustrated,

"When will you learn you aren't your father? I'd continue attempting get this through your infinitely think head, but APPARENTLY YOU DON'T GET IT!" By this time, Wilson was shouting. House was surprised to see his friend show this emotion about House's opinions. Without any previous indication of his intentions, House got up and left, leaving a suddenly silent Wilson gaping at his back. Wilson thought,

"And… nothing much has changed."

When House got to the company parking lot, he saw that his and Wilson's cars where the only ones still there. House started up his car and got in. He drove out of the lot, and continued driving. Past his apartment. Past Cuddy's house. That place still brought a flutter to his heart he would never admit to anyone. Past the gas station on the edge of town. Past the city limits.

When House could no longer see any lights from Princeton and no lights on ahead, he pulled over to the side of the road. He sat in his car, in the darkness. He let his pent up emotions flow out of him in tears and incoherent babble. This was how he kept up his robotic façade all day. Ever since going clean, it was a lonely dark road and a bottle of scotch for relief of emotions. If he was to show them in public, he would be vulnerable, and the armor he had tried to build up over the course of his entire life would fall away to reveal what he really was: an open wound. Stacy's rejection and his messed up childhood had stabbed a hole through what heart he had then, and the hole had never healed. Instead, it had been festering for the past few years. No matter what he pretended to the public, he was not fine. He was still hurt, and he was still trying to heal himself.

On this trip to the outskirts of town, he had brought something he had never brought before: a loaded pistol. It sat mocking him on the passenger's seat. The seat that he had always secretly hoped Cuddy would sit in after a nice meal. Or a horror movie. Or a monster truck rally. You get the picture.

The pistol lay there, laughing at him. How much of a coward he was. How he always hurt the people he was most close to. House thought over his decision. He thought about how happy he had made Cuddy. How much she had come to like the little fetus he had helped with. How scared he was of when he pushed Jade too far, and she wouldn't come back. House wasn't good with relationships. He'd always jostle around the little glass vase people are. Jostle it yes, only to keep things interesting. But things always got too uncomfortable, and he would break the glass, intentional or not. No, House had decided. This night, he would take his life.

But then the medical, reasonable side of his brain put in its two cents. To commit suicide would be to take the easy way out. It wasn't the death that was hard. It was the living that killed people. House had often wondered if humanity was indeed living in hell. If he shot himself, it would hurt like hell, probably worse than his daily pain from his leg. But what did he have to look forward to in life? Pain in his leg, awaiting the day he hurt Cuddy so bad she wouldn't come back, dreading the day he drove Jade away from him, the time his antics were too much for Wilson and he left for good too. And, of course, the day his unborn son came to hate him with every cell of his body. That wasn't much of a life to look forward to. It made Hell or Purgatory seem like Heaven.

However, his medical brain did have a point. If he died, he would never see again the sparkle in Cuddy's eyes. He would never feel the warmth of her body next to his in the morning. He wouldn't antagonize Wilson anymore. There would be no more stealing food off his best friend's plate. He would never see Jade grow up. He would never have the pleasure of disrupting her dates like he had Cuddy's. And of course there was still his son…

Though it had definitely taken him a few hours to decide, he made his final decision: Life.

House looked down on the seat, and realized how close he had come to losing his girlfriend, daughter, and son forever. The gun now filled him not with sadness, but disgust. He had almost taken the easy way out. That would have been a very stupid and un-House-like thing to do. It would have been admitting defeat. House didn't admit defeat. House stuck the battle out. And then when he lost, he went out with a snarky comment. House was suddenly seized by the impulse to throw the gun in his hand in to the welcoming blackness that surrounded him. He got control over himself, turned around, and drove back to his apartment. On the way in, he stopped at a trash dumpster and threw the gun and unloaded bullets into it.


	14. Secrets Unveiled Cheesy Title

When House arrived at home, he found Jade sitting in his chair, looking concerned. He was surprised to see her there. She had gone home with Cuddy, right? They simply looked at each other for a while. Then House made his move, saying,

"I still don't get how you got here." Jade sighed and said,

"Elementary, my dear Watson. I thought you looked at little weird, so I looked through your car, found a loaded gun and a suicide note. I decided that for your own good, I would hide in the trunk of your car. I figured that if you did shoot yourself, I could drive you back to PPTH, thus saving your life. I debated whether or not call Mom. I decided against it, for some crazy reason. I figured that you were a big boy, and you needed to make this decision by yourself." House nodded. Jade smiled warmly at him, and he half-way returned it. Albeit, his smile looked more like a grimace, but who can tell the difference when you constantly live in pain? House went to the piano, and played 'Joy's Memorial'. He needed to hear the bittersweet tune to remind him why he wanted to live. Jade sat down next to him, and studied his fingers. When House finished, Jade tried playing it as well, and did pretty good for the first time. When she started to get confused, House put his fingers over hers, and they finished the song together. They sat at the piano a few minutes longer, not a sound made in the entire apartment. Jade got up, and crossed to the wall that held all the instruments her father played. The dominant instruments were guitars, by a long shot. Jade picked out a guitar that was black with silver swirls on it, and brought it over to her father. She asked softly, not wanting to break the spell that bound them,

"Will you teach me?" House nodded. House crossed to the wall, and picked out a traditional acoustic guitar. They sat down together on the couch and House, showing a rare moment of patience, taught Jade the fingerings for the guitar. They tamed the guitar from 10 pm to 12:30 am. Jade put the finishing note on her song, sighed, and turned to her father, saying, "We should probably go to bed. The last thing we need to have happen is I miss school, we both get chewed out, and Mom ends up with a problem concerning my sibling." House sighed, looked at his clock, and said,

"Damn. The nighttime soap operas come on at one." Jade smiled and, for the first time, kissed her father good-night. She went to the bathroom to shower and get ready for bed. Once the bathroom door was shut, House gently rubbed the spot on his cheek where Jade had kissed him. Her lips had felt just like her mother's. House sighed contentedly, feeling immensely happy that he hadn't brought that gun to his head. He sat unmoving on the couch until he heard the water shut off. House rose, and went to his bedroom, leaving Jade alone in the living room that was temporarily converted to a bedroom.

House was chained to a grimy stone wall. Across from him he saw Cuddy, Jade, and Wilson were chained to their own respective walls as well. House strained against the bonds that held him in place, but they didn't budge a centimeter. House looked across from himself at Cuddy. She looked farther from normal than House could possibly imagine. He clothes were filthy and in tatters. Her long ebony locks were greasy. She was pitifully thin, except for the large swell of a child within her. She looked up at House, and he felt as if someone had ripped out his heart, slashed it with a rusty serrated knife, threw it on the ground and stomped on it. Her usually sparkling eyes held no emotion but hopelessness. They were sad, and there was no shimmer of happiness, anger, or any other positive emotion. House struggled even harder against the shackles on his wrists, but they still wouldn't move. Then, he realized something: His leg didn't hurt. House, thinking this too good to be true, tentatively flexed it. Still no pain. He stretched it out to full length, and it still didn't hurt. If he wasn't looking at this pitiful shell Cuddy, he would have actually laughed in happiness. House was distracted from her face by the sparkle of something on her hand. His eyes widened when he realized that the sparkling thing was a _wedding ring_.

The ring was a band of gold, with a ruby shaped like a heart. Inset in the ruby was a small diamond. Though he couldn't see it, House knew that on the inside of the ring was inscribed "Marry Me". The ring Cuddy wore was the same one he had privately debated giving her anonymously. House's eyes were drawn from Cuddy at the sound of two sets of approaching footsteps. House immediately did his best to look as beaten down as Cuddy did. The small door beside Cuddy opened, and House saw a face he loved and hated, a face he had thought to never see again.

Stacy had entered, followed by a brick of a man. House looked at Stacy, all pretenses forgotten. He shouted down at her,

"You nasty backstabbing bitch! What the hell are you doing to us! Let my family down! You sickening, nasty, bitching, asshole of a bastard!" House continued cussing out Stacy, but for all the notice she gave, be could have been a wooden stick. Stacy made a signal to her henchman, and he proceeded to rape Cuddy. House said nothing, agape at the horror that he was witnessing. Though he was unaware of it, tears fell faster down his face than the racing heart that pounded in his chest.

When the man was done with Cuddy, Stacy turned to House and said,

"Are you willing to comply with my demands?" House tried to ask what those demands where, but he found himself mute. Stacy continued to look at him waiting patiently. When no answer came forth, she made a signal to the man. He walked over to Jade, and gave her the same treatment he had given Cuddy. House suddenly found his tongue, and screamed.

House sat up in his bed, still screaming. He immediately shut up, and realized that he was drenched in sweat. _God, that was so real, _thought House, _I hope I didn't wake Jade._ Just then House became conscious of Jade sitting next to him, her hand on his sweaty back, murmuring, "Shushshshshshshshshshshsh…" House couldn't believe himself. He had awoken from a nightmare screaming and was being comforted by his 16-year-old daughter. And despite how much he hated himself, he still had a strong wanting to simply curl up in Jade's arms and cry himself back to sleep. He tried to stop himself, but his instinct won. He curled himself up, his hurt leg sticking out awkwardly, and let Jade wrap her arms around him and comfort him while he had a long-needed cry.

House cried for almost an hour and a half, all the while hating himself for unloading all his screwed-up-edness onto his poor daughter. Jade held him the entire time, her maternal instinct to comfort those who cry taking over.

At 3 am, House managed to stop crying and act more like him. Jade sensed that he was OK now, and silently got up and went back to the make-shift bed on the couch in the living room. House was happy that she had left right away, because it saved him having to explain to her his nightmare. She seemed to understand the kind of privacy he wanted. House laid back down and fell back to sleep almost instantly. Jade fell asleep soon as well, and all was quiet in the apartment of Gregory House.

The next morning, Jade was still up at the early hour of 4:30, even though it was a Saturday. She came to the conclusion she should stay with her father only on the weekends, so that if she had more sleepless nights, she wouldn't perform bad at school. Jade got up, and stretched, realizing just how disgusting her hands were from her father's sweat. Despite the fact that she had to wash her hands for 5 minutes, she still didn't regret going to her father when he had screamed earlier that morning. She had been lying awake in bed when she had heard her father start twisting about in his covers, and a quiet whimpering sound. She had gotten up and practically run to her father. She had sat next to him while he continued to dream and twitch, doing her best to rub soothing circles on his chest and all the while whispering "Shushshshshshshshshshshsh…" She had known that her father would be somewhat embarrassed about his weeping. She had known that he wouldn't want her to know anything about his dreams, and Jade had respected his privacy. She, being his daughter, could relate very well to his needs as far as comforting went. Jade shook herself out of her ponderous thoughts, and went about the business of making pancakes for her father.

House awoke earlier than normal to the intoxicating scent of pancakes and muffins in the oven. It never ceased to amaze him that Jade could make these delicious breakfasts with the few ingredients that were to be found in his kitchen. He rose from his bed, and feeling all the sweat that had dried there, he remembered earlier that morning. He flushed the tiniest bit when he remembered his childish bawling. Still, as long as he didn't mention it, Jade wouldn't mention it. Hopefully. He got dressed, and went out to the kitchen to join his daughter in her breakfast of pancakes, muffins, and scrambled eggs. Jade was already seated at the table, eating eggs while the pancakes and muffins cooked. She waved at her father as he walked in, and he blinked at her. Jade rolled her eyes, but continued eating. House helped himself to some eggs from the pile on a plate, and dug in. Yet again, a wonderful variety of tastes flooded his mouth, washing over his tongue. House wished yet again that it was Cuddy's tongue in his mouth instead of scrambled eggs. The timer on the oven dinged, and Jade got up to retrieve the muffins. She brought them back to the table, and House immediately grabbed one, burning his hand on the still hot muffin. He dropped it out of surprise, and Jade chuckled as she got him an icepack wrapped in a towel. She said,

"Has your old age forced you to release some of the little bit of common sense you possess?" House looked at her and said,

"To early for long words. Shut up." Jade smiled again, but remained silent. She then grabbed a muffin using the tips of her long nails to avoid burning her fingers. With a remarkable amount of poise, she nibbled at the muffin while balancing it on the tips of her nails. When Jade finished, she smiled smugly at her father, who muttered,

"Show-off." He grabbed a muffin with his hand, and shoved the whole thing into his mouth. Jade outright laughed at the sight of her father having chipmunk cheeks. House swallowed his huge bite, and took a great gulp of orange juice. He almost spit the liquid out. He stood up quickly and exclaimed, "ORANGE JUICE? WHERE DID YOU GET THIS?" Jade shrunk up in her chair. She had never really seen her father this mad. She said quietly,

"W-Wilson dropped it off." Jade brought her knees up to her chest, and squeezed her eyes shut, anticipating a hit. There was none forthcoming. Jade opened one eye to just a slit, and saw her father had sat back down, and was looking at her rather curiously. Jade slowly, cautiously, let her legs extend back down to the floor, and let her eyes open. She eyed her father warily, and he looked at her with pure curiosity. Jade sighed and explained slowly,

"Back at my foster mother's home, she would occasionally beat me when something I did surprised her in a way she didn't like, or when I did something stupid. I guess the flinching and trying to hide is just a habit. You can't tell Lisa. I don't want my foster mother to get in trouble." House simply stared at her. His daughter and he had had similar childhoods, and he hadn't known about it for four months? His daughter had been _beaten_, and she had still turned out OK, and not hating humanity the way he did? House sighed and said,

"I won't tell Cuddy. If you tell me the truth about your life up until now. I'll call in to the hospital and say you're sick." Jade's eyes started watering up, and she smiled happily. Her mother was kind to her, but she was kind in the way people are kind when dealing with elderly people. They sometimes were just dealing with you. House, on the other hand, was gruff and blunt, but when it really mattered, he was really there for her. Not that Jade doubted Cuddy would do that for her, but it just felt more like House really did care about her life. Jade waited patiently as House called the hospital.

When he returned, Jade hadn't moved. House sighed, and said,

"Look, I know that bitch of a foster-mother might have beaten you, but I promise I won't hit you. Now, will you please stop looking like I am strangling a small animal in front of you and I am laughing while I do so?" Jade smiled a little bit, but the fear was still in her eyes. It was just hiding beneath a layer of deflecting. Only then did House realize just how hard it was for his daughter to go through day-to-day life. He also then realized just how much she was like him. They both had an abusive childhood, and they both coped with pain every day. His pain was physical, but Jade had emotional pain, the kind of pain that no drug can cure. No drug would ever be able to put a strong barrier between Jade and the hand that struck her. House sighed, and pulled his chair over next to Jade. He put an arm around her shoulder while she quietly cried into his shoulder. Jade knew that this was the only person that she could ever let herself cry in front of, or even into when there really wasn't a plausible excuse for t, other than her world was screwed up. She knew that he wouldn't betray her to anyone, and he wouldn't tell anyone.

House also realized that Jade was the one person he could cry in front of and not feel ashamed or embarrassed. They were the shoulder for the other, the ear that was always there for those moments when the other needed someone to listen. _If I was a generation older, Dad and I could actually be a couple._ Thought Jade. She smiled at the idea of her mother walking down the isle to her father at the end. House felt the muscles in Jade's face twisting, and he knew she was smiling at something. Jade got up, and walked over to the couch. She knew that this was going to be her talk with her father when they learned all the little details about each other. House followed Jade, if only to make sure that she was OK. Jade sat on the couch facing her father, and her father faced her. Jade took a breath and said,

"Everything in this conversation will not reach the ears of anyone else. This conversation is strictly confidential. If Lisa or Wilson ask anything about this conversation, we never had it." House smiled at the way his daughter was closing all the loopholes. He knew that what she was doing was unnecessary. He wouldn't have told anyone about the way his daughter was, because they would know that was the way he was. Jade continued talking, "I have had 8 foster parents, 7 of which beat me. The only one that didn't was too old and feeble to do so. The first pair I had enjoyed beating me whenever they got bored. When I was taken away from them, the next people that took me in seemed very kind at first. Then, I discovered they were very controlling. When I tried to run away, they caught me and beat me. I called 911 this time, and I was taken away from them as well. The next people were a family where the son was still living with his parents. The son would hit me on his way to work, and the parents made me there personal servant. They beat me when I didn't something fast enough for them. Then, the last woman that you took me from, she was the one that didn't beat me because she was in a wheelchair, so she couldn't. But on occasion she did get her son to help her on that front. I had to help her with everything, though. I guess that's why I jumped at the chance to get away. I figured that if Lisa wanted me enough to send someone all the way from New Jersey to get me, she must want me very badly. At the time, you guys just seemed like the saving grace. Now, you and Lisa are much more than that. Yes, Dad, even you." House nodded. He said quietly,

"You know, my dad beat me when I was a kid. When I was 12, I found out that he wasn't even my dad." Despite her own pain, Jade felt a multitude of pity for her father. He had experienced abuse his whole life from the same man, and then found out that man wasn't even his father. Jade moved toward her father cautiously on the couch. Jade was afraid that he would walk over to his bedroom and shut her out. Jade tentatively reached her arms around her father, and she felt him stiffen slightly. She knew that if she didn't get this over with soon, she would lose her chance. Quickly, Jade embraced her father in her arms. She hugged him tightly to her, like he was the only thing that could save her from death. Hesitantly, House put his arms around her. Jade felt his arms, and knew instantly that she had done the right thing. She let House hold her tightly like she held him. They sat like that for a few minutes, letting a sense of safety and security envelope them. Jade let herself release some tears into House, knowing that this was one of his few human moments. She felt something warm and runny on the back of her neck, and knew that her father was crying as well.

Jade let her grip on her father relax, and she slowly got up. She crossed to the piano, and played 'Joy's Memorial'. House sat on the couch, crying slightly as he remembered that night. Jade continued playing the song, studying her father's face, trying to figure out the secret behind this song. She knew that whenever he played it, he seemed more human, and the human that he became showed that the song evoked a feeling of sorrow and pain in him. Jade played the song for almost an hour, until she could glean no more information from her father. She got up, and went back to the couch to comfort the unwholesome man before her. She softly whispered to him,

"What's that song called?" House whispered back to her,

"Joy's Memorial." Jade nodded. She thought over his answer. _Okay,_ thought Jade, her deductive and reasonable brain kicking in through all the swirling emotions in her, _Dad would never compose a song to the loss of an emotion, so Joy must be a person. By the way he is acting, I would guess that Joy died. That also makes sense since it is called 'Joy's Memorial'._ Jade asked,

"Who was Joy?" House wiped his tears away, and Jade could see that he was closing up to her. Jade asked again quickly,

"Who was Joy?" House frowned as he thought this over. He then said,

"You should probably know this anyway. Joy was a baby that Cuddy was going to adopt. The mother was a crack addict, and she thought that she wouldn't be able to raise the spawn, so she put it up for adoption. When the baby was born, the mother decided that she wanted the baby, so she didn't let Cuddy adopt. That's the story of Joy." Jade nodded again. She asked,

"Why did you write a song for her?" House sighed, and said,

"That was the first time Cuddy kissed me in almost 15 years. If you tell anyone else that I told you, I will wring your neck. No, I would not actually do that." Jade smiled. She cuddled up close to her father, and fell asleep like that. House stroked her hair, until he too fell asleep.

House and Jade slept the whole day away, until Cuddy came over at 5 pm. She intuitively walked in slowly, subconsciously sensing that loud noises were not a good idea. She quietly set the supper that she brought on the table, and quietly walked around. When she saw House and Jade curled up together on the couch, she smiled, and almost started to cry at the heart-warming sight that she looked upon.

Just then, Jade sleepily opened her eyes. She looked around slowly, taking her time to wake up. When her eyes came to rest on her mother, the instantly became more alert. Jade slowly disentangled herself from her father, and walked over to hug her mother. Jade and Cuddy walked slowly over into the bedroom, and closed the door. Cuddy hugged Jade again and said concernedly,

"House called in and said you were sick." Jade shook her head happily and said,

"No, I wasn't sick. We just had a talk that had to happen. I'm sorry Mom, but we agreed that we wouldn't tell anyone about what we said. One of those father-daughter things. Come here." Jade took her mother's hand, and opened the door. She pulled her over to the couch where House still slept. Jade whispered in Cuddy's ear, "Curl up in his arms. You know you want to." Jade smirked devilishly at her mother. Cuddy sighed quietly, but knew that any arguing would awaken House. She slowly moved up next to House, and curled up in his arms like she had seen Jade do. Jade smiled encouragingly. Cuddy couldn't fight it anymore; she gave into the wanting that she had held secretly for the past 20 years. She let her self shift until she was more comfortable. House's arms tightened around her until it was impossible for her to escape with out awakening House. Cuddy let her self relax, and she was soon fast asleep.

Jade smiled at her parents, knowing that this was what she wanted. Her parents holding each other, her mother sleeping peacefully in her father's arms, and looking like a modern day version of Romeo and Juliet. Jade went to her bag, and quietly pulled out her book. She walked over to House's bedroom, and settled in for the next few hours to read while her parents embraced and slept together in blissful happiness.

When House and Cuddy woke up at 7 am the next morning, they found themselves tangled together on the couch. House looked at Cuddy alarmed and at the same time happily. Cuddy looked at him sheepishly. House smiled at her, and brushed a curl of chocolate hair behind her ear. Cuddy whispered to him,

"Hey you." House whispered back sexily,

"Hey yourself." Cuddy put her light hand on House's chest. She said seriously,

"House, I'm pregnant with your child." House nodded, smiled, and said,

"I know." Cuddy smiled back at him. She didn't ask how he knew or what methods he used to know. She just accepted that he knew. They kissed each other passionately, and let themselves hold their pose for almost half an hour. They got up, and prepared for yet another day at work.


	15. Proposal and Delivery

8 months had passed since that morning when House had awoken to Cuddy in his arms. Since then, they had made no secret of their love for each other. They had ridden home together after work, kissed in the hallways, and gone out together at the end of the day. The entire hospital was talking about it.

One morning, January 1 to be exact, House had taken Cuddy to the hospital at midnight. They had sat together in the employees' lounge together, talking, for almost an hour. Then, House had turned to Cuddy, and proffered to her a small velvet box. Cuddy took it, and opened it. Inside, there sat a red ruby heart on a golden band with a diamond in the center. House had asked those fateful words,

"Will you marry me?" Cuddy had stared at the ring, like it was the last thing she had ever expected to get from House. Actually, it _was _the last thing she had expected to get from House. She cleared her throat, and thought for a second. She chanced a glance at House, and she saw the vulnerability in his eyes, and the fear. The fear of rejection shone out of his eyes, as plain as if he had spoken it. She smiled at him and whispered,

"Yes, Greg, I will marry you." They kissed with a fire that hadn't been seen since that first date.

Later that year in March, Cuddy was working in her office. There was nothing obviously different about her day. After all, she was just filling out some paperwork for a law suit that the hospital was in the middle of. She was just dreaming about her wedding when she felt her child give a kick, and smiled. She knew that she was due soon, but after all the false alarms she had made House endure; she didn't want to raise the alarm. Suddenly, she felt a sharp spasm of pain shoot up her spine, and she knew instantly that this was no false alarm. This was the real deal. Slowly, cautiously, she got up, and made her way to the door. She walked like the floor was a carpet of eggshells. She continued her snail-like pace down the hall to the elevator. When she reached it, she found it ding before she hit the button. The doors slid open, and House stood inside, smiling at her. His smiled soon disappeared when he saw Cuddy smiled sheepishly. He knew in a split second as only a father can know that Cuddy was in labor. He pulled her into the elevator, and asked,

"How far apart are the contractions?" Cuddy smiled and said,

"I've only had one so far. They just started." House smiled at her, and hugged her close, still being careful of her protruding abdomen. They soon arrived at the maternity level, and they stepped out together. House shouted,

"GET YOUR ASSES OVER HERE! YOUR BOSS IS HAVING A BABY, AND WILL HAVE NO HESITATION FIREING YOU SHOULD YOU NOT ATTEND TO HER EVERY NEED! HELP H" The rest of his words were drowned out by a sharp cry from Cuddy. 5 nurses came rushing over, helping Cuddy into the nearest empty room. House was by her side the whole way. She was lying down on a bed soon, awaiting a visit from a maternity doctor. House growled angrily at the nurses who tried to stop him looking to see if his child was coming out. They moved quickly, knowing that his anger meant Cuddy's anger. House looked down between his fiancé's legs, and found nothing there. House shouted at one of the nurses,

"Get Jade in here now!" The nurse nodded quickly and ran out of the room. A few minutes later, Jade came rushing in. She took one look at her mother and father, and laughed out loud. She said,

"So am I going to get the cussing out instead of Dad, since this is technically sort of my fault?" House grinned at her, and Cuddy even managed a smile. Jade looked at the nurse who had fetched her and asked kindly,

"Could you please get Dr. Wilson from Oncology?" The nurse nodded, and left again. Jade took her place at her mother side, next to her father. Through the haze of her pain, Cuddy smiled at the thought of how this moment must look to others. The boss was laying in the hospital bed, the world's most gruff and nasty doctor at her side, and a 16-year-old daughter there as well, waiting patiently for her mother to cuss her out. They all stayed like that.

Wilson came rushing in soon, his face shining with sweat. He took one look at his sister, best-friend, and niece, and he passed out cold on the floor. Everyone laughed. Jade turned to her mother and said,

"Just so you know, Mom, Wilson is your brother." This shocked Cuddy to the point of forgetting her unborn son for a split second. She tried to get up and jump for joy, but Jade roughly pushed her back down. Cuddy turned to House, who was smiling evilly. She knew that he had known all along. Wilson soon came to, and got up off the floor. He rushed to Cuddy's unoccupied side, and smiled lovingly down at her. She smiled up at him, and said,

"You get to be Uncle James all over again." He shot Jade a look, and she had to suppress the urge to laugh. He looked back at Cuddy, and found a joy so intense and unlimited, he felt all the anxiety, all the unhappiness all the annoyance simply melt off him. He knew that he must look 10 years younger. Cuddy gripped his and House's hands tightly as the next contraction came.

The rest of that morning and all through the night, she held their hands, and endured the pains of childbirth. Jade brought food intermittently, never leaving her mother's side unless she absolutely had to. Wilson and House talked quietly, pausing at Cuddy's screams and reassuring her she was doing a fine job. Every five minutes or so, she would look straight at House and say,

"You do realize this is entirely your fault?" And to that House would reply,

"You know you wanted it." Cuddy had no comeback to that.

At around 5:30 in the morning, Cuddy's contractions started coming thick and fast. House looked quickly once, and found the top of his son's head poking out at him. He went back to Cuddy and shouted at her,

"Push! Now!" Cuddy screamed, and her screams were soon mingled with that of Wilson's and her newborn son's. Cuddy quickly released Wilson's broken hand, and held her arms out for her son. House wrapped him in a blue blanket, and handed the little boy to his mother. Cuddy held him, and smiled down at his red and screaming face. She rocked him slowly, and his cries quickly subsided as he fell asleep. Cuddy looked at her family and asked,

"What should we name him?" House turned to her and said firmly,

"Hugh Jacob House." Cuddy smiled at House and said,

"That sounds great." She looked back at her son. House growled to Wilson,

"You have a lot of explaining to do, _godfather._" Wilson looked at his friend, who smiled somewhat at him. Cuddy nodded at Wilson. He looked at Jade, who shrugged and said quietly,

"My only advice is this: House will make you change the diapers no matter what." Everyone laughed, and Wilson nodded and said,

"I'll be godfather. Even if House hadn't threatened me." House nodded curtly, and looked down at his fiancé and son. Jade and Wilson beamed at the idyllic family before them.


	16. Weddings and Finales

Cuddy stood in front of the body length mirror, her long light green dress floating around her like a cloud. Jade bustled about her, making the final adjustments to the green fantasy. Cuddy stood there, still not being able to believe that this day had finally come. She would be House's forever. She would become Lisa House in a matter of minutes. Jade took a step back to admire her mother, and said,

"Perfect. You most definitely look like a bride. I'm just happy that you decided against a white dress." Jade and Lisa laughed at that. They hugged, and Lisa asked nervously,

"Do I really look OK?" Jade rolled her eyes and said,

"How many times do I have to tell you? To use my father's words, you could be dressed in nothing and you would look great." The two women laughed again, a nervous strain underlying the happiness in Lisa's voice. Though she looked like the average happy bride, she was still nervous. What if House had done all this just to screw with her? What if he wasn't there at the end of the isle? What would she do? She looked over at Jade, and Lisa knew that Jade knew exactly what she was thinking. Jade put a arm around her mother's shoulders and said with caring in her voice,

"He'll be there. Hell, Wilson would have knocked him out and kidnapped him if he had to, to get him here." Lisa nodded, but it was clear that her fears wouldn't be put to rest until she House at the alter. Jade sighed, and kissed her mother on the cheek, not wanting to smear the lipstick. Lisa smiled at her, and looked out through the glass window at Wilson holding little Hugh. She felt her heart warm at the site of her brother holding her son. Jade and Lisa sighed in unison, feeling happiness flow through their veins. Jade turned to her mother and asked,

"Are you ready to make your debut?" Lisa's mouth went dry, and she nodded. This was the deciding moment. The moment when her heart would either burst with happiness or break with despair. Jade poked her head out the front door into the beautiful garden, and motioned for the music to start. Lisa stared at herself in the mirror. She knew that green was one of House's favorite colors, but would he like her dress? Would he think that the color just wasn't quite right? Lisa laughed nervously at herself. She was worrying about little things like her dress when she wasn't even sure her fiancé would be there to see it. Jade came back in, grabbed her flower basket, and moved slowly to the door, her mother following slowly, as if in a dream. Jade turned to see if Lisa was ready, and Lisa gave her a small nod. They both turned to the door, and Jade slowly made her way out into the garden, the soft blanket of grass whispering under her feet. She scattered rose petals about the isle as she slowly made her way to the alter. When she had reached the end and taken a seat in the chair reserved for her next to Wilson, Lisa slowly made her way out into the open, fearing what she would see at the end.

And there he was. He was clean-shaven, and nicely groomed. He wore a tuxedo, and she could tell that he was just as nervous as she was. House stood there, his eyes nearly betraying the fear he was working so hard to hide. But when Lisa stepped out, all his fears were dispelled by the beauty of her presence. What a woman she was. _His woman, _House had to remind himself. He still couldn't believe that she had actually showed up. He looked her figure up and down, smiling as he remembered that he had told her that his favorite color on her was green. She had worn it just for him. It was as if no one else was there. She had gotten all dresses up just for him. He still thought that she could have worn nothing and looked beautiful.

When Lisa saw House standing there at the end of the isle, she knew that this was what he wanted. What they both wanted. To be each others for ever and ever. She abandoned her slow pace for a more brisk walk, eager to get to his arms and feel his lips on hers. Jade had to stop herself from laughing at the site of her mother almost running up to her father. She had trouble believing that almost a year ago, Lisa would have been running away from him. Jade took immense pride in knowing that this was what she had brought about. The materials had already been there, all she had done was put the puzzle together was what she would modestly admit to anyone who asked about it. It was mostly true.

Lisa stood across from House, smiling at him with all radiance her soul had ever felt. He smiled back at her, almost shyly. House removed Cuddy's veil, and they turned to the priest, one of House's many ex-patients. He smiled, having known all along from his stay at the hospital that this was what would happen between the two of the doctors. He was just happy to be the one who got to join them forever and all eternity. He cleared his throat, and began in his bass voice,

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered here today to witness the joining of this man and this woman in holy matrimony. May God smile forever…" Lisa and House soon stopped listening to him, engrossed in the feel of the other beside them and the prospect of being together for the rest of eternity. Lisa whispered quietly so only House could hear,

"I thought you wouldn't show." He whispered back,

"I feared the same about you. I would have shown up, even if it wasn't me up here." Lisa smiled, and felt tears of happiness slowly trekking down her face. House lightly brushed them away. Lisa whispered quietly,

"Do you still think that I should have shown up without a stitch on my body?" House smiled sensuously at her and whispered back,

"Nothing says those stitches have to stay on all night." Lisa smiled, as the priest concluded,

"Do you, Gregory House, take this woman, Lisa Cuddy, to be your lawfully wedded wife, in sickness and in health, for good and for bad, 'til death do you part?" House said loudly and clearly,

"No. I take her still after death. We do not part." He gently slipped his ring onto her fourth finger on her left hand. Lisa smiled at him. He smiled back at her. There wasn't a dry eye in the entire audience. House lightly kissed Lisa's hand. The priest smiled and said,

"Do you, Lisa Cuddy, take this man, Gregory House, as your husband in sickness and health, for good and for bad, 'til death do you part?" Lisa smiled and said,

"'Till death and forever after." Lisa put the golden band on House's finger. There was an audible sigh from every single woman in the audience. The priest then said to the guests,

"Does anyone present have a legitimate reason why these two should not be united by the giving of these rings?" This was the point when Cuddy's heart began racing. Why would anyone not want them to be wed? No one said a word. The priest then pronounced,

"I now pronounce you husband and wife. You may kiss the bride." Lisa quickly threw herself at her husband. She threw her arms around his neck, and her lips met his with more love than most others ever experience in their life time. House kissed her back with equal enthusiasm. Wilson and Jade hugged each other, and the rest of the audience applauded their two dear friends. Everyone was happy that House and Cuddy had finally admitted there was no way to reach happiness without the one person that is your happiness, your comfort, and of course, your lover. The love they experienced was the kind that is found once in an eon. The kind that is perfect and flawless and they proved the one phrase that humans have questioned and wanted desperately wanted to believe in since the dawn of time: Love conquers all.

4


End file.
